海角黑料

Kansas City Kansas Community College hosted the annual Kansas City Jazz Summit April 28 to May 1. Over the course of the four days, 79 middle school, high school and collegiate instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles performed, receiving clinics from master artist/educators Jeff Baker, Dr. Carolina Calvache, Taryn Gervais, Chris Hazelton, Brett Jackson, Dr. Marcus Lewis, Jim Lower, Alex Manfredo, Stanton Kessler, Clarence Smith, Gerald Spaits, Doug Talley, Dr. David Von Kampen and longtime Count Basie Orchestra lead trumpeter Mike Williams.

The festival's highly anticipated Basically Basie Jazz Heritage Competition featured high school bands from Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, South Dakota, Washington and Alaska. The following ensembles were selected by the clinicians as the 2026 Basically Basie Jazz Heritage Competition winners and runners-up in their respective divisions:

• 6A Winner: Lincoln High School (Sioux Falls, S.D.) Lincoln Jazz Collective, directed by Drew Balta
• 6A Runner-Up: Roosevelt High School (Seattle, Wash.) Jazz Band 2, directed by Michael Van Bebber
• 5A Winner: Robert Service High School (Anchorage, Alaska) Jazz Ensemble, directed by Christopher Lubken
• 5A Runner-Up: Salina Central High School (Salina, Kan.) Jazz Ensemble, directed by Guillermo Rodriguez

Clinicians also selected the following students as the outstanding musicians of the Basically Basie Competition:

• Outstanding Overall Musician: Henry Oppenheimer, alto saxophone, Lincoln High School
• Outstanding Woodwind Soloist: Isaac Plummer, tenor saxophone, Roosevelt High School
• Outstanding Brass Soloist, Nick Maskill, trombone, De Soto High School
• Outstanding Rhythm Section Soloist: Ramona Canwell, piano, Roosevelt High School
• Outstanding Vocalist: Rylee Willnauer, Olathe Northwest High School

In addition to the Basically Basie awards, clinicians also selected the following ensembles as Outstanding Ensembles over the course of the Jazz Summit:

• Basehor-Linwood High School Jazz I, directed by Ryan Kazmaier
• Baldwin High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by Stuart O'Neil
• Bentonville High School Jazz Orchestra, directed by Phillip Shewmaker (Basically Basie performance)
• Bentonville High School Jazz A, both directed by Shea Pierce
• Frontier Trail Middle School Jaguar Jazz Band, directed by Sara Smitko
• Harrisonville High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by Nathaniel Orr
• McPherson High School Vita Voce, directed by Nicholas Griggs
• Olathe Northwest High School Raven Jazz I, directed by Robert Davis (Basically Basie performance)
• Olathe South High School Falcon Jazz Ensemble, directed by Chad Coughlin
• Prairie Trail Middle School Husky Jazz Band, directed by Jena McElwain
• Robert Service High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by Christopher Lubken (Friday afternoon performance)
• Summit Trail Middle School Sabercat Jazz Band, directed by Joshua Hankey
• Tonganoxie Middle School and Tonganoxie High School's Charles Van Middlesworth - the decision was made by the clinicians to recognize the scope of the Tonganoxie jazz program in appreciation of Charles’ teaching excellence across four separate jazz ensembles at the middle and high school levels, and his dedication to his students

Additionally, clinicians identified 258 students to receive certificates for Outstanding Musicianship for their performances during the festival.

This year's Jazz Summit also featured two evening concerts. The first was a vocal jazz showcase featuring 海角黑料 vocal jazz ensembles (After Hours, Fusion and The Standard, all directed by John Stafford and the Blue Devil Funk Band, directed by Dr. Justin Binek), plus Millikin University's OneVoice and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Jazz Singers.

During the second concert, 海角黑料 partnered with Creative City KC for a UNESCO International Jazz Day concert at the Kansas City Music Hall featuring the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, directed by Scotty Barnhart. The 海角黑料 Blue Devil Big Band, directed by Brett Jackson, opened the concert with a rousing set featuring Mike Williams as a guest artist; Dr. Justin Binek and 海角黑料 Board of Trustees Chair Linda Hoskins Sutton announced the winning bands and soloists from the day's Basically Basie competition, and the Basically Basie Outstanding Musician, alto saxophonist Henry Oppenheimer from Sioux Falls Lincoln, had the opportunity to sit in with the Count Basie Orchestra on the group's final number of the evening.

The 2027 Kansas City Jazz Summit will take place at the 海角黑料 Performing Arts Center April 27-30, 2027, with the Basically Basie Competition taking place on April 29.