The Summer Jazz Journey series continues with an evening of deeply rooted, forward-moving jazz led by trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader DeShannon Higa, joined by Quadpod and featuring vocalist Rocky Brown.
Higa is one of Hawaiʻi’s most distinctive jazz voices—a trumpeter equally at home in hard-swinging post-bop, groove-based modern jazz, Latin colors, funk, and more exploratory electric textures. His career has taken him from Hawaiʻi to New York and beyond, with performances in major venues including Birdland, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Radio City Music Hall. As a composer and arranger, he has written for a wide range of ensembles and currently serves as an official composer and arranger for the historic Royal Hawaiian Band. His musical world is broad: sophisticated but never stiff, modern but still connected to melody, groove, and emotional clarity.
For this concert, Higa brings together his jazz quartet Quadpod, an ensemble built on conversation, risk, and trust—essentials in jazz. The group features Patrick “Paka” Whitehead on piano and keys, Mark Tanouye on bass, and Abe Lagrimas Jr. on drums. Together, they move through bebop, hard bop, post-bop, funk, Latin, soul, and original music with the kind of flexibility with the ease of seasoned and gifted musicians. It is alive, interactive, and built in the moment.
Drummer Abe Lagrimas Jr. brings a remarkable musical range to the bandstand. Known internationally as a drummer, vibraphonist, ʻukulele artist, composer, educator, and Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner, Lagrimas has worked across jazz, Hawaiian music, world music, and contemporary creative settings. His drumming brings both fire and elegance—deep pocket when the music needs to sit, explosive lift when it needs to fly.
At the center of the evening is Rocky Brown, whose voice carries decades of experience across Broadway, jazz, folk, pop, R&B, and American song. A former member of the Broadway cast of Miss Saigon, Brown brings theatrical depth without overstatement, soul without gimmickry, and a storyteller’s instinct for lyric and phrasing. She has performed on major stages, recorded in both the Philippines and Hawaiʻi, and built a respected career not only as a performer but also as a voice teacher and mentor through her successful vocal studio. Whether singing a jazz standard, a folk-inflected ballad, a pop classic, or something more soulful and blues-drenched, Brown sings with warmth, nuance, and lived-in musical honesty.
This 80-minute concert will showcase the many sides of these artists: original compositions, reimagined standards, deep grooves, lyrical ballads, spontaneous improvisation, and the unmistakable sound of musicians who know how to listen. Expect a night that honors jazz tradition without treating it like a museum piece—music with history, heart, humor, swing, soul, and a few surprises.
Set in the beautiful acoustic space of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, DeShannon Higa + Quadpod featuring Rocky Brown offers an evening for serious jazz listeners, longtime fans, and anyone who simply loves great musicians making real music together.