Category: Arts and entertainment

Saturday events

Tractor cruise planned today
Vintage tractor enthusiasts and the Greater Kansas City Two-Cylinder Club will drive around the area in a 24-mile benefit ride for the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, 126th and State, Bonner Springs. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Ag Hall, and then continues to Wyandotte County Lake and a stop for lunch at Cabela’s before returning to the Ag Hall.

Spring Fling planned at Bonner Farmers’ Market
Spring Fling at the Farmers’ Market is planned from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 4, in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The event will include market vendors, magic shows, bounce houses, face painting, a balloon artist, henna artist and yoga in the park. The event will be at Kelly Murphy Park, 129 Elm St., in downtown Bonner Springs. For more information, visit https://bonnerlibrary.org/spring-fling/.

Rosedale Disc de Triomphe tournament today

Rosedale Park, 4125 Mission Road, will be the site of the third annual Rosedale Disc de Triomphe disc golf event beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 4. The neighborhood fundraising event has more than 100 participants. Funds raised will help Rosedale neighborhood projects and the Rosedale Development Association.

Plant sale to be May 4
The Wyandotte County Extension Master Gardeners will have continue their plant sale May 4 at the Extension office, Wildcat Room, 2100 N. 79th St., Kansas City, Kansas. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Vegetables, flowers and ornamental grasses will be for sale. Purchases may be made by cash or checks.

Polski Day to be May 4
The 35th annual Polski Day will be Saturday, May 4, at All Saints Catholic Church, 8th and Vermont Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas. The event will include a parade at 11 a.m., a Polka Mass at 5 p.m., a festival from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Polish food and live musical entertainment. For more information, visit https://polskiday.com/.

Sunflower Showdown in rowing at Wyandotte County Lake
The University of Kansas will play host for the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State University in women’s rowing at 11 a.m. at Wyandotte County Lake at 91st and Leavenworth Road in Kansas City, Kansas. K-State will defend last year’s win. On the K-State roster are two students from Wyandotte County, Mikaela Bennett, a junior who attended Bonner Springs High School, and Maya Morrow, a freshman who attended Piper High School.

Family story time planned
Family story time is planned from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 4, at the Main Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, youth services craft room, 625 Minnesota Ave. The program is geared to children ages 2 to 6. There will be reading, dancing and singing.

Spanish singing lessons planned
 “Clases de Canto,” or Spanish singing lessons, are planned from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, in Conference Room B, South Branch Library, 3104 Strong Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. The Spanish language singing class is taught by Sandra Zamora.

S.T.E.M. program planned at library
 A S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and math) program is planned from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Main Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, craft room, 625 Minnesota Ave. The topic will be “Weaving Makes Things Stronger,” and includes the designs of suspension bridges and Kevlar vests. Participants will make their own kente cloth craft. This program is designed for children and teens.

District playoffs in softball today at KCKCC
 KCKCC will play host to Cloud County in a best-of-three series in the six-team Division II District D playoffs at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday at KCKCC, 7250 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. If necessary, a third game will be played Sunday at noon. The Blue Devils, 34-18, are seeded No. 7, while Cloud County, 11-27, are No. 10.

Flyover concert to be May 4 at amphitheater
 The Flyover concert featuring Cardi B, Savage, Kodak Black, G. Herbo, Lil Mosey, YBN Cordae, Tobi Lou, Splurge, Blaatina and Yusee will be at 3:20 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at Providence Medical Center amphitheater, 130th and State Avenue, Bonner Springs. Doors open at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or at the box office.

KCKCC music and audio engineering programs receive five DownBeat student music awards

by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Music and Audio Engineering programs have been honored not once, not twice, but five times in DownBeat Magazine’s 42nd Annual Student Music Awards.

The Standard Vocal Jazz Ensemble received Community College Outstanding Performance awards in both the Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble and Blues-Pop-Rock Group categories and singer-guitarist Michael Schley was cited as a Community College Outstanding Soloist on The Standard’s recording of “Afro Blue.”

The RSS Trio, featuring drummer Antonio Reyes, organist Mark Slimm and Schley, received a Community College Outstanding Performance award for Small Jazz Combo.

Finally, sound engineer Brady Rose (a 2018 KCKCC graduate) received a Community College Outstanding Recording award for Engineered Studio Recording.

In 2018, no community college received more than two separate awards and in 2017, no community college received more than three.

“Our program is becoming nationally recognized for excellence in jazz and commercial music performance and audio engineering at the two-year collegiate level,” said John Stafford II, associate professor of music and director of The Standard. “We have a strong core of students from all backgrounds, and we have a well-established community within our department – a community where students support one another and want to help each other succeed. I am very proud of our students and department for receiving these honors from DownBeat Magazine. We feel very fortunate and honored to have this opportunity.”

KCKCC was also recognized by DownBeat in both 2017 and 2018. In 2017, The Standard received a Community College Outstanding Performance award for Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and audio engineer Jordan Lankhorst received a Community College Outstanding Recording award for Live Studio Recording. In 2018, audio engineer Brady Rose was named the Community College winner in the Engineered Studio Recording Category.

“This level of recognition is remarkable for any school, be it high school, community college or university,” said Dr. Justin Binek, assistant professor of music reflected. “The fact that DownBeat has recognized excellence across all aspects of our programs – vocal, instrumental, large ensemble, small ensemble, solo, audio engineering – is extremely rare, and it makes me so proud of what our students and faculty have been able to achieve.”

These five DownBeat awards represent the culmination of an academic year in which the KCKCC Music and Audio Engineering programs have repeatedly received national recognition. The Standard gave feature performances at the national conferences of both the Jazz Education Network and the National Association for Music Education, and professors Jim Mair (Instrumental Music Program Director), John Stafford II (Choral Music Program Director), Dr. Ian Corbett (Audio Engineering Program Director) and Dr. Justin Binek (Music Theory/Jazz Studies) have traveled extensively both nationally and internationally as performers, teachers, adjudicators and clinicians.

“We are in the midst of very exciting times at KCKCC,” Mair said. “The Choral, Instrumental and Audio programs are firing on all cylinders, and I think we’re just scratching the surface. The DownBeat awards can stay on your résumé for life, regardless of your career path.”

DownBeat Magazine has the widest circulation of any jazz magazine in the United States. Dedicated to “Jazz, Blues, and Beyond,” DownBeat was founded in 1934, and is best known for its album reviews, annual surveys of both readers and critics and its awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Hall of Fame and the Album of the Year. The DownBeat Student Music Awards were established in 1978.

“I am very excited about the incredible work being done by our Music and Audio Engineering faculty and students,” Dr. Greg Mosier, KCKCC president, said. “For many years, these programs have produced work that has received national recognition and awards, but receiving five awards from DownBeat Magazine in all of these categories is extraordinary. My congratulations go out to all involved. You sound awesome.”

Jazz summit to be April 23-26 at KCKCC

by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC

Jazz music is filling Kansas City Kansas Community College this week as the 2019 Kansas City Jazz Summit returns to the main campus.


The Jazz Summit is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 23 to 26 in the KCKCC Performing Arts Center, 7250 State Ave. The event, which is produced by the Kansas City Jazz Alliance, is free and open to the public.


The Jazz Summit caters to jazz groups at the middle school, high school and college level in both competitive and non-competitive sessions. It is a collaborative effort between the KCKCC Music Department, Audio Engineering Department, Theater and the Intercultural Center. Awards are given for outstanding soloists, woodwinds, brass and rhythm section performers.


There are three levels of participation. These include:


• Jazz Summit. A non-competitive group where jazz groups perform for adjudicators. No winners are named, but outstanding groups and soloists are recognized. Groups that participate in this category receive a plaque or trophy.


• Kansas City Jazz Heritage – “Basically Basie.” This is a competitive category on Thursday of the Jazz Summit. Groups are required to pick three songs from an established list of Count Basie repertoire. These selections must have been recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra. Judging is based on the authenticity and attention to detail. The top two groups will compete for audience voting, which is done by text message. The winning group receives a cash prize as well as a traveling plaque. Olathe Northwest High School Raven Jazz I won the competition last year.


• Jazz Tyro. This is specifically designed for younger bands with little experience. Those that participate receive positive comments as well as a clinic following their performance.


Each day, groups from throughout the region perform. Local schools attending the Jazz Summit include Wyandotte High School, Turner High School, Washington High School, Harmon, Schlagle, Lansing, Basehor-Linwood, Tonganoxie, Blue Valley North, Blue Valley Northwest, Blue Valley Southwest, Olathe West, Olathe East, Olathe North and Olathe Northwest. In addition, KCKCC ensembles, including the Fusion Vocal Ensemble, Vocal Lab, The Standard and Funk Band will perform the first day of the summit.


Clinicians for the summit include Jim Mackay from Winnipeg, Manitoba; Scott Prebys from Bismarck, N.D.; Harold Jones from San Francisco, Calif.; Bill Richardson from Northwest Missouri State University; Todd Hastings from Pittsburg State University; Chris Burnett from Leavenworth, Kan. and vocal jazz specialists Mike Engelhardt and Paul Langford. For complete schedules for all three days of the event, visit www.kansascityjazz.org/kansascityjazzsummit.html.