Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship
SOUTH BURLINGTON – The sounds of saxophones and clattering skateboard wheels echoed throughout Talent Skatepark, blending harmony with chaos. Skaters circled a stage in the center of the park, weaving tricks and lines as a live jazz band set the backdrop.
Last Saturday, the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival partnered with Talent to hold a free skate jam at the park, encouraging skaters of all ages and abilities to participate.
Together, they transformed the skatepark into a music venue, welcoming skaters and spectators for a session set to live music.
“Music and skateboarding might be my two favorite things in this world,” Hannah Deene Wood, Talent Skatepark executive director, said. “So having them come together is outstanding.”
The skate jam was headlined by The Bandwagon, a group headed by pianist Jason Moran that blended the rough and gritty noise of skateboarding to the smooth and rhythmic harmonies of jazz.
The event was one of many held during the 43rd annual Burlington Discover Jazz festival last week. Curated this year by Moran — a 2010 MacArthur Fellow and former artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — centered the festival on Black musical traditions and cultural exchange.
This year, Moran worked with the Vermont Youth Orchestra, ice skaters, opera singers and skateboarders to execute his message.
Moran, 51, has built a career as a pianist, composer and educator with Rolling Stone calling him “the most provocative thinker in current jazz.” Having grown up skateboarding in the 1980s, he has continued to draw connections between the two worlds.
“Every song has a progression, and you have to navigate it. You can’t predict every chord change or when the next section comes. How do you approach it? How do you land it? How do you prepare for the next thing?” Moran said. “From every skater I have watched, it is how they have prepared for the moment and then executed it.”
Moran’s observation played out during the jam as skaters prepared for their lines by reading the park and deciding what trick and feature to hit.
As the skaters dropped in, photographer Brian Glenney, a Norwich University professor who studies the philosophy of skateboarding, captured every moment. Glenney followed skaters with his 1990s video camera, giving skaters their spotlight.
“Skateboarding is a youthful and fleeting activity and photography captures this spirit,” Glenney said. “Viewing photos reenergizes and inspires.”
The jam also highlighted Black skaters’ contributions to the craft, with professional Black skateboarders Ron Allen and Chuck Treece in attendance. Allen was one of the first Black professional skaters to get sponsored, and Treece was the first Black athlete on the cover of the U.S. edition of Thrasher magazine.
During the event, Allen freestyled over The Bandwagon’s jazz rhythms while Treece accompanied them on the guitar.
They also hit the park during the event, taking time to connect with local skaters.
“Everyone here is really nice, and I think it’s fun that they accepted me,” Allen said. “It was rad. Everyone was just really hyped and super stoked. This is a really wonderful place.”
Once Moran and The Bandwagon wrapped up their set, Wood gathered skaters, musicians and spectators together for a group photo. The moment served as a fitting end, uniting people through local talent and free entertainment.
“In a little small Vermont, we put out some awesome shows. We put out some awesome talent,” Wood said. “This event showed that Vermont is a mighty strong little state where you can still have free, incredible entertainment.”
