The Temple High School Highlighters jazz band competed on Thursday, April 28th at the 2016 Kansas City Jazz Summit’s “Basically Basie” contest.
Held on the campus of Kansas City Community College, the Highlighters competed against other college, high school and middle school jazz bands.
Temple advanced to the final round where they competed in a classic battle royal to best capture the essence of the Kansas City Style exemplified by the Count Basie Orchestra.
Under the direction of Mr. Brent Mathesen, the Highlighters were awarded 1st place in this premier American Jazz competition!
While in Kansas City for the summit, the Temple High School jazz band also worked with master musicians, performed a number of times including at the American Jazz Museum, and attended additional performances to watch Jazz professionals in action.