by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
Jazz music will fill Kansas City Kansas Community College at the end of April as the 2016 Kansas City Jazz Summit returns to campus.
The Jazz Summit is 9:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26 and 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. April 27, 28 and 29 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 goal of the event is to have the most well run, educationally sound event in the Midwest and beyond – the best looking stage, the best sound, the best lighting, the best judges and the best experience,” said Jim Mair, associate professor of music at KCKCC. “After participating as an adjudicator and performer at many festivals across Canada and the United States, I have tried to have come up with a format that is streamlined and pedagogically sound. Our Jazz Summit utilizes our audio engineering students, our theatre program and our instrumental and vocal students.”
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 band selects three Count Basie musical selections and tries to replicate the sound of the band during the Basically Basie competition. The top two bands have a playoff at 5 p.m. and a winning band is selected,” Mair said. “Text voting makes up part of the winning component. A cash prize and plaque go to the winning band. This year, long time Count Basie band drummer Butch Miles will be our lead judge. This competition has attracted bands from Canada, St. Louis, South Dakota, Texas and Oklahoma. We hope to build this into an international event beyond Canada.”
Each day, groups from throughout the region perform. Local schools attending the Jazz Summit include Wyandotte High School, Harmon, Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, Schlagle, Basehor-Linwood, Tonganoxie, Blue Valley Northwest, Olathe South, Olathe Northwest, Olathe North and Shawnee Mission Northwest.
A new addition this year is Vocal Jazz on the first day of the competition. Groups from Omaha, Washington, D.C., and throughout the region are attending including Ottawa University, Omaha Vocal Jazz, George Mason University and Kirkwood Community College, among others. The KCKCC Vocal ensembles will perform at noon April 26.
“It is gratifying knowing that the Kansas City Jazz Summit is becoming a destination location event because of the quality of the event, and the fact that we are in Kansas City promoting the Kansas City Jazz Legacy,” Mair said. “It’s also fun to watch the students step up as hosts and ambassadors of the college.”
For complete schedules for all three days of the event, visitwww.kansascityjazz.org/kansascityjazzsummit.html. For more information or for questions, contact Jim Mair at [email protected] or by phone at 913-288-7503.