DeShannon Higa is a renown jazz trumpet player both in Hawai‘i and New York City. His professional experience spans over 20 years and has performed in famous venues such as Birdland, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Radio City Music Hall. His talents have been heard globally, having performed in Japan, China, Okinawa, Mexico, and Europe. Among his teachers are studio legend Ollie Mitchell, Grammy Award winning jazz trumpet player Brian Lynch, and Harry Connick Jr.’s lead player Roger Ingram. He has also recorded on many albums including Raiatea Helm, Hula Joe & the Hutjumpers (received a Hoku award for best jazz album) and Fiji.

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His credits include such notable artists as Burt Bacharach, Joe Williams, Gladys Knight, Keali‘i Reichel, Wayne Newton, Diana Krall, Donny & Marie Osmond, Al Jarreau, Jake Shimabukuro, The Temptations, The Elvis Presley Band, Dionne Warwick, Matt Catingub, Tower of Power, and Wynton Marsalis, among many others.

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DeShannon’s styles of music range from jazz to latin/salsa to modern electronica and hip hop. As a bandleader/visionary, he has assembled and is currently performing with two bands of his own creation: gr00ve.imProV.arTiSts (an urban jazz-electronica dance band) and Quadpod (a neo-bop quartet). He is also a founding member of the jazz group Bop Tribal, who released their debut album in 2008 to rave reviews, including the Hawaii Music Award for best jazz album and a 4 ★★★★ review in the famous Downbeat Magazine.

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He resides in Honolulu with his wife, former Broadway performer, from the original cast of “Miss Saigon”, Rocky Brown, with whom he also performs.