Trumpeter DeShannon Higa has performed with many renowned artists including Al Jarreau, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, and Diana Krall. Courtesy photo

At the request of King Kamehameha V in 1872, Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm I sent Prussian military musician Henri Berger to Hawaii to lead the Royal Hawaiian Band. Transforming the band, Berger became known as the “father of Hawaiian music” for his setting of the “Hymn of Kamehameha I,” later known as the national and state anthem “Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī.”

“That was a title that the Queen (Lili’uokalani) gave him,” explained Royal Hawaiian Band trumpeter DeShannon Higa. “He had a close relationship with the queen.”

An acclaimed Hōkū-nominated jazz musician who will perform at ProArts Playhouse on Saturday, Higa loves playing with the Royal Hawaiian Band.

“I have the best job,” he said. “I’m the principal trumpet player, so I get to shape the sound of the band. I’m also one of two staff arrangers in the band, which means I get to write music for the band and play stuff that I like to write. So I’m really grateful to God for placing me in this really rare and special position of musical influence.”

Performing with the band for over 20 years, he said it is a full-time job but still gives him time to do things like this show in Maui.

“I’m grateful for the freedom that my day job allows me to still be able to play music outside of the band, doing other fun musical things,” he said. “I’m really having a ball.”

The Hilo-born musician, composer and arranger has performed locally and globally with many renowned artists, including Al Jarreau, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Diana Krall, Wynton Marsalis and the original Elvis Presley band.

He has fond memories of the Elvis gig that recreated the legendary 1973 show “Aloha from Hawaii.” “The promoter put a live band together with the original guys, and then they added horns and strings and extra things. I got to recreate the concert, and on this huge video screen, there’s Elvis.”

A featured soloist on the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning album “Jimmy Borges,” his debut solo album “Words Cannot Express” received two Hōkū nominations in 2019 for jazz album of the year and most promising artist. With guest players including Maui’s Jeff Peterson, some people said it should have won jazz album of the year.

“I thought it should have won too,” he said. “But then I had to remind myself that’s not why I did it. I don’t do it for awards. I do it to bring glory to the Creator who gave me this gift in the first place. I want people to enjoy it for what it was and be blessed by it.”

With a lyrical approach reminiscent of Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti on some songs, tracks include “Dancing Angel” with vocalist Tiffany Nagano, and an instrumental arrangement of the protest song “Kaulana Na Pua.” On another track, “Earth Song,” he journeyed into Fela-style Afropop.

“I wanted to bring that kind of Afro-Caribbean groove flavor to that song,” he said. “Especially at the end, I got drums from 14 different countries playing, and so it became a global, anthemic kind of drumbeat.”

Heading two bands — the Subtonic Orchestra and the jazz quartet Quadpod — he explained, “Quadpod is more of a modern yet traditional jazz quartet. We do a lot of the traditional bebop, hardbop, Latin jazz stuff, and some funk and Brazilian. Then the Subtonic Orchestra is basically a 10-piece jazz-funk band.”

In October 2025, he presented a unique concert on Kauai, recreating Miles Davis’ classic “Kind of Blue” album.

“It was fantastic,” he said. “I hope we will find an opportunity to bring that show to the Playhouse because I think it would go over so well. This would be a good year to do it, because this is the year of Miles Davis’ centennial birthday.”

For his ProArts show on Saturday, Higa will celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. “It’s an international show to highlight the importance of different cultures,” he noted. “I want to bring across to the audience the heart and soul of these cultures that can speak to anybody, so there’ll be tunes reflecting different cultures.”

He will perform with Jeff Hellmer on piano, Dave Graber on bass and Howie Rentzer on drums. “I have a song, of course, from the Hawaiian culture,” said Higa. “There’s a song I do that has roots in Japan and Southeast Asia called ‘Longing for the Spring Breeze,’ and there’s something from Brazil, from Sérgio Mendes’ library, and there’s something from our American culture too.”

Presented by the Pono Project, Higa will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at ProArts Playhouse. Tickets range from $15 to $31 at proartsmaui.org.