For the week of Feb. 19-27, Mt Hood Community College's Jazz Band performed in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for a Chinese New Year celebration.

Invited with other groups to represent foreign cultures, 22 out of the 23 musicians performed alongside acts like dancing teams from Sweden and Africa. The group barely had time to interact with their fellow performers. "Basically, the interaction was 'Hi' and 'Bye'" said trombone player Matt Hutson.

A crowd of nearly a million watched as the group performed songs ranging from "Sing Sang Sung" to "Meva Los Huesos". "Jazz is popular over there more so than here,” said Hutson.

It was a special performance for one trumpet player and songwriter, Wes Luttrell. Among their song choices, the group premiered a song Luttrell wrote for the trip "Super Blue". "More people were grooving that R&B, funky, soul tone,” said Luttrell. He added, "I owe all my travels to my trumpet."

When not performing, the group traveled to some historical Taiwan locations including a Buddhist monastery called Fo Guang Shan temple where they met up with a 100 ft. golden Buddha. "Some people had culture shock,” said Susie Jones, the band director.

The band members were humbled by the friendliness and welcoming nature of the Taiwanese people. "People were very friendly. They facilitated to our needs," said Luttrell. "It was an honor and privilege."

"The guys received six years of cultural experience in six days," said Jones. "It was amazing." The band is set to go into the studio this weekend to record many songs they performed overseas, including Luttrell's "Super Blue."