DESHANNON HIGA
JAZZ TRUMPET, MUSICAL ART

Riffs that have a life of their own, that were created as they were being played, and solely for that moment. That’s what’s coming out of the jazz musicians improvising with each other on stage at Aloha Tower Market Place on a recent warm night.

From the excitement in the audience, you can tell that the intense energy building up on the stage is spilling over with each riff. There’s a guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, a pianist, a saxophonist and a trumpet player. Each of them makes it look completely natural, almost as if the jazz riffs are using them as instruments to escape into the night air. This might explain why each musician looks happily possessed by the music, grooving up and down the stage as if they weren’t 200 people watching them.

A man with a long, black, pony tail and dark rimmed glasses that give him a sophisticated yet casual flair steps to the front of the stage. Everyone in the audience cheers. It’s time for Deshannon Higa’s solo. His hands manipulate the keys of his trumpet as easily as a mouth letting out words.

Not only does Higa consistently collaborate with other jazz musicians, but you can find him playing in just about every genre from Latin to Hip-hop. At his usual spot, Gordon Biersch at Aloha Tower Marketplace, he’s played with artists such as Shingo02, the Japan based MC famous on the West Coast for his unique raps. This past summer he also put together a Michael Jackson tribute there, involving singers, dancers…the whole shebang. This 39-year-old, Hilo grown, Kaimuki High graduate, has no problem communicating musically with just about anyone.

Hawaii RED Magazine wanted to find out about the musical world that he lives in. Luckily, Higa interviews just like he improvises; effortlessly, expressively, and excitingly.

“Deshannon.” What inspired your parents to give you that name? Or, is that your real name?
Yeah, people wonder about that…It’s actually something that my parents just thought up. They wanted to give me something original. And so they thought about Shannon but they thought it needed a little something to it, so they added a little “D E.”

So, how did you start playing jazz professionally?
Hmm, my first professional gig, I was 16 and I was playing in the pit orchestra for Peter Pan. We did about a one-month run, and at the end of it I got $75 and I was so thrilled to get it. Like “Wow, man! I get paid to do this!” You know? That’s when I thought, OK this is cool, I could get used to this.

I got some really great advice early on. My teacher told me, be as versatile as you can because if you play just one style, you’ll never get enough work. And he was right. So that’s why early on I tried to be…as flexible as I could, learning how to play a lot of different styles…everything really.

But it’s mostly jazz that you play, right?
Well yeah, over the years I’ve… had to kinda whittle it down to “What is going to be my focus?” And jazz was the easy sell for me.

What is it about jazz that you love?
The spontaneous, creative expression. I’m not playing someone else’s music. I’m creating my own melody spontaneously, and I love that. It’s always different, every time.

What is it like improvising on stage, being on the spot with all those people watching you?

My focus is on the music and I try not to let the audience get in my head as far as having them dictate what I play. Because there are two roads. One road is the road of the entertainer and that’s giving people what they want, right? The other road, that I’ve chosen, is the road of the artist. And that is giving to the world what I have to say artistically and just expressing that in my own way.

I wanted to ask you about collaborating with people. What do you look for in a musician when you’re collaborating?
Well if I’m being hired then it’s not my choice, really. I don’t really like to close the door on any opportunity. ‘Cause even the music isn’t something I’m necessarily into, you never know what that gig could lead to. But as far as who I choose…believe it or not, guys who I feel a connection with, that I have a bond with. Because music is…a collective collaboration and you have to be able to work together.

So when you do want to put something together how do you gather musicians?
That comes with a lot of experience and street “cred” as it were. I think I’ve been around long enough and played well enough where people respect me…[and] if I ask them to do something…they know it’ll be a high quality project. Truth be told, not all of these gigs necessarily pay a lot. Sometimes the club just can’t pay what each musician is worth or what I’d like to pay them. So it becomes just about the music, about the product that we’re putting out, and just about the camaraderie and the chance to play together.

How does it work when you’re collaborating with someone of a different genre, like Shing02?
With anybody new that I’m working with, I listen to their music to try to get a handle of their style and of their concept. I could just read the notes on the page and play my part but that’s not what I’m hired to do. I’m hired to add and enhance what they’re doing . So in order to do that… I need to get inside their music and their world, which I love to do… I don’t want to be a jazz player that’s playing Latin music now, or a jazz player that’s playing folk music. I just want to be a musician.

Do you think that being a jazz musician as opposed to a musician of a different genre contributes to your ability to collaborate with people?
Definitely. And that’s because…the nature of playing jazz is improvisation, and so having that training allows me to be flexible and think on my feet. So I can hopefully do the most musically appropriate thing.

Who is someone who you’ve always wanted to collaborate with?
If you’re talking about living artists I think it would be really cool to go on tour with either John Mayer or The Black Eyed Peas…I would love that.

Story by Sarah Burke
Photos by Aaron K. Yoshino

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