Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — As the world celebrateS UNESCO’s 15th International Jazz Day on April 30, with over 190 countries,  American Samoa together with Samoa under the umbrella of the Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival (SJAF) 2Samoas inaugurated in 2014, proudly highlights its unique cultural position as “the Pacific’s birthplace of Jazz” — a crossroads where oceanic traditions, storytelling, rhythm, and global influence have long connected communities through music.  

Situated at the gateway of the Pacific, American Samoa holds a distinctive place in the evolution of jazz across Oceania.  

Samoana International Jazz Day 2026 is a cultural activation designed to reconnect communities across American Samoa and Samoa through Jazz, live music, storytelling, and artistic collaboration. This year’s activation provides a meaningful opportunity to celebrate International Jazz Day while strengthening our Music, Arts & Cultural  identity, our Jazz legacy, and creative participation.

Presented under the Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival umbrella, this initiative reawakens and reignites a long-standing music, arts & cultural platform that has connected musicians, venues, institutions, and emerging artists since its inauguration in 2014. 

About International Jazz Day

In November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe.

The Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival 2Samoas (SJAF): Uniting the Two Samoas

At the heart of this IJD celebration is the Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival ~ 2Samoas, a distinctive cultural brand that unites the two Samoas in recognition of our shared culture, history, traditions, language, and identity as One peoples. Rooted in the enduring bonds between American Samoa and the Independent State of Samoa, the festival celebrates the spirit of Fa’a Samoa through music, arts, education, and cultural exchange.” as expressed by its Founder and Festival Director, Siteine Peta Si’ulepa-Ala.

“Our geographical physical location, parted by our international dateline, positions SAMOA as the first country on the planet to Greet the Sun — and AMERICAN SAMOA, as the last country on the planet to Farewell the Sun. In other words – we kick off and we close International Jazz Day.”

She added that as the southernmost border of the United States where Jazz originated — American Samoa stands at a unique cultural intersection — as “the Pacific’s’ birthplace of Jazz”.

International Jazz Day is chaired and led by the UNESCO Director General and legendary jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, who serves as the UNESCO Jazz Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue and is Chairman of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz.

The Institute is the nonprofit charged with planning, promoting and producing this annual celebration. The Herbie Hancock Institute on behalf of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) co-ordinates the International Jazz Day (IJD) April 30 – a global event that is celebrated annually in approximately 200 countries world-wide.

Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival founder and Festival Director- 2Samoas, Siteine was invited by the prestigious Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz to participate in the 8th annual global celebration of International Jazz Day (IJD) held in Melbourne, Australia 2020. She joined other International Jazz Day organizers on the Cultural Exchange Panel International Jazz Day around the World for an exchange on “the significance of jazz in our respective communities and the potential of International Jazz Day to effect positive global change” Siteine proudly shared our unique Samoan Jazz story with the panel and with the Melbourne audiences.

“A TALE OF 2SAMOAs – THE UNTOLD STORY OF JAZZ” https://drive.google.com/file/d/13yY0QAds-k-0TC392QACSmetLKiwidQ/view?us...

Our Samoan Jazz History

JAZZ came to the Samoan Islands between WWI and WWII, a time of colonial power plays and global turbulence. The Samoan Islands once SAMOA were carved up in the 1900s under the Berlin Agreement with the eastern Islands (American Samoa) going to the US and the western Islands (Western Samoa) relinquished by Great Britain to Germany.

One of Samoa's first jazz bands, Moody Rivers Band moved to American Samoa after the breakout of WWII and Pago Pago, American Samoa became the US Military base for the South Pacific. Moody Rivers' Band became the main music entertainment for the US troops with Moody's 12-year-old daughter Mavis Rivers earning the reputation of "the Singing Mascot" as she sang with her father's band, Samoan and popular Jazz songs of the time.

Mavis Rivers went on to make a successful career as an international jazz singer and recording artist in NZ and the United States with several “firsts” to her name – being the first Samoan to make records, one of NZ's first recording artists, the Pacific's first Lady of Jazz and the first Pacific Islander to be nominated for a Grammy award in 1959 in the 'Best new artist' category.

Mavis was also the first woman vocalist to record on Frank Sinatra’s recording label “Reprise Records.” Frank Sinatra says of Mavis Rivers – as having “the purest jazz voice” he has ever heard.

"The Tale of 2 Samoas' - our Samoan Jazz Story is a story of Hope, unity of mission and a demonstration of how the Universal language of Jazz music engenders Joy, uplifting the Spirit even in times of conflict and turmoil.

Mavis Rivers son, Grammy Award winner La’auli Matt Catingub came to the “Tribute to Mavis Rivers” Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival in 2018 — it took place in Samoa and American Samoa — as we honored his late Mother. We are planning another tribute event together with La’auli Matt Catingub in 2027.

La’auli Matt has recently released a new CD in honor of his late Mother, entitled “From Samoa to Sinatra” — https://www.mattcatingub.com/fromsamoatosinatra