24 Years of Student Jazz: Clarence & Janet Smith and the 18th & Vine Student Jazz Festival
The building of a 24-year tradition of putting young musicians on a real stage in the heart of KC's jazz district — plus free noon concerts April 15-17
24 Years of Student Jazz at 18th & Vine
The 18th & Vine Student Jazz Festival · April 15–17, 2026 · Gem Theater
Every April, more than 50 student jazz ensembles from across Missouri, Kansas, and the Midwest, load onto buses and drive to 18th & Vine. They walk into the Gem Theater — a real stage, a real sound system, a real audience — and they play. For many of them, it’s the first time playing on such a historic stage, on hallowed jazz ground.
This has been happening for 24 years. And for all 24 of those years, two people have made it happen: Clarence and Janet Smith.
Free Noon Concerts — Jazz Museum Atrium
Each day of the festival, the American Jazz Museum Atrium hosts a free noon concert open to the public. No ticket required — just walk in.
Wednesday, April 15 — JAZZ Spoken Here
A tribute to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Two titans of the music, one afternoon in the Atrium.
Thursday, April 16 — Horacescope
Stan Kessler’s Kansas City jazz ensemble dedicated to the music of Horace Silver — the hard bop pianist and composer whose tunes are some of the most played in the jazz canon. Kessler, a veteran KC trumpeter and founding member of Sons of Brasil, has been keeping Silver’s funky, blues-drenched sound alive on local stages for years. He’s also one of the festival’s twelve clinicians, working directly with students between sets.
Friday, April 17 — James Ward Band
The James Ward Band has been part of the Blue Room since 1998 — just months after the 18th & Vine district’s revitalization launched. James Ward, Angela Ward, and their family are woven into the fabric of this building. There’s nobody better to close out the festival’s noon concert series.
Noon concerts are sponsored by Jamey Aebersold, with assistance from Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors.
The Smiths
Clarence Smith is a drummer, educator, and one of Kansas City’s most important jazz figures — even if he’d never describe himself that way. He coordinated the jazz program at Metropolitan Community College – Penn Valley, has directed jazz ensembles across multiple MCC campuses, and manages the Kansas City Jazz Academy at the American Jazz Museum. Before all of that, he spent a decade directing the jazz program at Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts, where his students performed at the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian. In 2000, DownBeat Magazine named him Jazz Educator of the Year. As a professional drummer, he’s played alongside Mike Vax, Bill Watrous, Rich Matteson, Ahmad Aladeen, and Queen Bey. The festival is where it all comes together — Clarence built it from the ground up, and he’s been running it for all 24 years.
Janet Smith — Festival’s manager and Clarence’s better half — is the glue that holds the whole thing together. An incredible event coordinator, Janet has been running the logistics since the beginning: coordinating schools, managing the three-day schedule, liaising with the Gem Theater and the museum, and making sure hundreds of students, parents, and band directors know exactly where to be and when. Over 24 years, she’s built a deep bench of returning volunteers who come back every April because she asked them to — and because the festival is worth coming back for.
What Happens at the Festival
The festival runs all day Wednesday through Friday at the Gem Theater. Student ensembles perform in 30-minute slots starting at 8 AM, with afternoon performances running through 5:30 PM. After each performance, students participate in a 25-minute private clinic with one of 12 professional clinicians — working musicians who give direct, personal feedback to every group that plays.
Schools are traveling from as far as Springfield, Kirksville, Chillicothe, West Plains, and Hesston, Kansas — alongside Kansas City metro programs from Blue Springs, Raytown, Liberty, Belton, Grain Valley, and more.
This is not a competition. There are no first or second place rankings, though each band does receive a rating and a 30 minute session with an adjudicator. The point is the experience: performing on a professional stage, getting coached by a working jazz musician, and walking the same streets where Charlie Parker, Count Basie, and Big Joe Turner built a sound that changed American music.
The Clinicians
Twelve professional musicians serve as clinicians and adjudicators, working directly with students after every performance. The roster includes Marcus Lewis (UMKC Conservatory, artistic director of Future Jazz), Stan Kessler (Sons of Brazil), Dr. Louis Neal (Louis Neal Big Band), and Kenny Watson — names Blue Room audiences know well — alongside educators and performers from across the region.
See the full clinician roster at 18thvinejazzfest.com
24 Years
The 18th & Vine Student Jazz Festival is a partnership between the American Jazz Museum and Metropolitan Community College – Penn Valley. Special acknowledgement goes to Tom Alexios and Edward Ellington II of the Duke Ellington Legacy for their continued support.
Twenty-four years is a long time to do anything. Clarence and Janet Smith have spent every one of those years working with educators to give young musicians a world-class jazz festival experience, putting them on a real stage, and connecting them to the living tradition of Kansas City jazz. The festival doesn’t just happen. It happens because they show up, year after year, so young musicians have a chance to play jazz on one of the biggest stages in jazz—the Gem Theater!
You are invited to come, enjoy the music, and support these great young musicians. Be sure to say hi to Janet and Clarence!
Details
Dates: Wednesday–Friday, April 15–17, 2026 Student Performances: Gem Theater, 1601 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO Noon Concerts: Jazz Museum Atrium (FREE, open to the public) Full Schedule & Info: 18thvinejazzfest.com
The American Jazz Museum is located at 1616 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108, in the historic 18th & Vine Jazz District.