Honokaa High Jazz Band tours Oahu

The Honokaa High School Jazz Band performed a series of concerts on Oahu last week as part of National Jazz Appreciation Month, which culminates in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s International Jazz Day on April 30.

The Honokaa High School Jazz Band performed a series of concerts on Oahu last week as part of National Jazz Appreciation Month, which culminates in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s International Jazz Day on April 30.

This year, the Honokaa Jazz Band also will promote President Barack and Michelle Obama’s All-Star Global Jazz Concert at the White House.

The Honokaa Jazz Band is composed of advanced music students who uphold a long tradition of excellence at Honokaa High and Intermediate School. The band was recognized by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation as being an outstanding school for music education and Honokaa was one of 36 schools out of 22,000 eligible programs in the U.S. to receive the Grammy Signature Schools Award.

Their director, Gary Washburn, has been recognized as a Living Treasure of Hawaii for his work as a music educator and has received a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction award..

This year, the theme of Jazz Appreciation Month is to explore how jazz uses communication as a form of democracy.

“As a jazz lover, I’ve seen how music can bring people together in our communities and I’ve seen how this band helps students learn to work together to make something beautiful,” said Rep. Mark M. Nakashima, a former student of Washburn at Honokaa High, who represents District 1, Hamakua, North Hilo, South Hilo.

“Jazz is this country’s indigenous art form, rooted deeply in the American experience,” he said. “The freedom of expression and its freewheeling spirit come from the same spark that gave birth to our democracy.”