Floyd Standifer
Floyd Standifer was a Black American jazz musician and educator born in North Carolina in Wilmington in 1929. In 1936, Standifer and his family moved to a farm in Oregon. His dad was an AME (African Methodist Episcopal) preacher and his mom was a school teacher. By the time Standier was in high school he had learned to play tuba, trumpet, and saxophone, and he also was a vocalist. In 1946 Standifer was accepted into the University of Washington Physics program. He started to play jazz with other university musicians and eventually dedicated his life full time to jazz. 1959 is the year that Standifer joined a band and went on a tour of Europe. He also played at the Seattle World’s Fair. Standifer had a profound effect on the PNW jazz scene. He taught at NWS and is one of the main reasons our music program is so strong. I interviewed Tamara Bunnell, a long-time Middle School Humanities teacher at NWS, and she said: “The reason our music program is there is because of him.” May 9, 1996, and October 20, 2000, were proclaimed by Seattle Mayors as “Floyd Standifer Day.” He died in Seattle in 2007, but his impact at the NWS will always be felt and heard.
My Wayfinder’s front shows the words “His Horns Honor and Educate.” The “Horns” refer to the instruments he played (trumpet, tuba and saxophone). “Honor” is what my Wayfinder is asking viewers to do, and “Educate” is what he did at NWS. The back is a photo collage of Standifer. The extension pieces are painted silver and brass to make it look like a brass instrument.
My Wayfinder’s front shows the words “His Horns Honor and Educate.” The “Horns” refer to the instruments he played (trumpet, tuba and saxophone). “Honor” is what my Wayfinder is asking viewers to do, and “Educate” is what he did at NWS. The back is a photo collage of Standifer. The extension pieces are painted silver and brass to make it look like a brass instrument.
