Kansas City Kansas Community College will be the centerpiece of jazz in KC this spring when it hosts the first Kansas City Jazz Summit.
This opening night, featuring the Kicks and the New Vintage Big Band directed by Jack Taylor, will kick off the music event aimed at middle school, high school and college age students.
For six days – from Monday, April 25, through Saturday, April 30 – some of the best young musicians in the Midwest will be performing along with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Quintet and the Kansas City High School Jazz All-Stars.
“There’s no festival of this kind in the Midwest,” said Jim Mair, the Director of Instrumental Music at KCKCC and Summit founder. “The whole concept is to showcase Kansas City. As one of the incubators of jazz, Kansas City jazz is as good as anything there is out there.”
The Summit is sponsored by the Kansas City Jazz Alliance, an organization formed to fund the annual KCKCC Jazz Camp, the High School All-Star program and the Jazz Summit. Other sponsors include the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and KCKCC Music Club, Intercultural Center and Endowment Association.
Mon., April 25, 7 p.m., 2011
