Under the direction of Richard Prioste since 1971, the Gunn High jazz program has produced top-flight musicians for more than two decades. Perennially invited to the prestigious California High School Jazz Band competition in Monterey, Gunn has also earned honors at the Reno International Jazz Festival, the California Music Educators Association Jazz Festival, and at annual events at Orange Coast College, Foothill College, and elsewhere. Among the Gunn graduates who have gone on to internationally acclaimed careers are drummer Akira Tana and guitarist Stanley Jordan. The Bay Area scene bristles with Gunn alumni as well, including Jason Olaine, David Bendigkeit, Tom Politzer, and others.

In the picturesque setting of Justin Herman Plaza, with its expansive waterfront vistas, the Gunn High School Jazz Big Band and Combo provide an exciting glimpse of the future of jazz, which is promising indeed.