April 30 has been designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) each year as International Jazz Day – a global event that is celebrated annually in about 200 countries.
American Samoa is one of those countries.
Each year since the establishment of the Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival in 2014, the territory has been part of the International Jazz Day in both Samoa and American Samoa and highlighted our unique jazz story, A Tale of 2 Samoas – Our Untold Story of Jazz.
The story begins in Samoa where jazz bands first performed since the 1930s. One of the first swing jazz bands, the South Seas Syncopators, was headed by Moody Rivers who moved his family to Pago Pago, American Samoa, after the United States became involved in WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Samoa was an isolated spot and often by-passed by the USO shows.
Moody Rivers’ daughter, 12 year old Mavis, sang with the band after school, entertaining American servicemen as they traveled around the various camps and on the warships anchored in the harbor. Mavis earned the name of “The Singing Mascot” as she and her father’s band became the prime source of entertainment on the island, singing popular songs of the day learned from American records brought over by the troops and Voice of America sheet music of the latest music.
She became so popular that on some evenings, the soldiers brought her to the central telephone station so her voice was heard over the camp intercom lines reserved for official conferences. This way, her voice reached more GIs and marines based in the outlying areas.
Mavis Rivers went on to make a successful career as an international jazz singer and recording artist in New Zealand and the United States with several “firsts” to her name – the first Samoan to make records and becoming Samoa’s and the Pacific’s First Lady of Jazz and the first Pacific islander nominated for a Grammy award in 1959 in the ‘Best New Artist’ category. Mavis was also the first woman to record on Frank Sinatra’s recording label, Capitol Records. Frank Sinatra said of Mavis Rivers as having “the purest jazz voice” he has ever heard.
Last year her memory was honored during the Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival in Apia and Pago Pago through a special tribute to Mavis Rivers Concert led by her Grammy Award winning son, La’auli Matt Catingub, who brought the story of jazz to life through sharing the life and music of his mother.
This year’s celebration of International Jazz Day in the territory has an early start. Tonight at Oasis Bowling Alley, Jazz Fingers Ulale Pusi Ulale will be joined by a lineup of local and visiting favorite musicians for a Jazz Jam.
Then on the actual International Jazz Day, April 30, the American Samoa Community College will host a Lunchtime Date with Jazz: A Jazz presentation on The Tale of 2Samoas – Our Samoan Jazz Story, and follow with live lunchtime jazz performances by musicians from the Musika Foundation & Friends of Jazz.
Meanwhile, Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival Director-2Samoas Peta Si’ulepa has been invited by the prestigious Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz to participate in the 8th annual celebration of International Jazz Day (IJD) in Melbourne, Australia.
Peta will join a select group of International Jazz Day organizers on the International Jazz Day around the World Cultural Exchange Panel for an exchange on “the significance of jazz in our respective communities and the potential of International Jazz Day to effect positive global change”.
“The invitation came as a complete surprise,” Peta shared. “I am deeply honored to receive this invitation to join four others from around the globe for this historic exchange. This is the perfect opportunity and platform to tell our Samoan jazz story and in doing so, promote our annual international Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival.”
Both events are open to the public and free.
