The Jazzcat

JASON MORAN AND THE BANDWAGON FINDING A LINE: at the Ford Theater Saturday September 29th

by on Sep.28, 2018, under News

 

“In jazz, there are so many moving parts, and within a composition, there are obstacles in the form. Street skaters navigate a landscape finding ways to approach a rail in the same way a drummer approaches the beginning of a song. The mode of improvisation is paramount to how both skaters and jazz musicians approach life.”—Jason Moran

Since his formidable emergence on the music scene in the 1990s, renowned pianist and composer Jason Moran has challenged the status quo which has earned him a reputation as “the future of jazz.” The Ford Theatres and CAP UCLA present Finding a Line: Skateboarding, Music and Media –– an unprecedented collaboration exploring the intersection of skateboarding and jazz. Improvisation abounds as local skaters shred a ramp on stage to a musical response performed live by Moran and his group The Bandwagon.

Skateboarders expected to participate include (subject to change): Ron Allen, Simon Lambey, Jaime Reyes, Sky and Ocean (AWSM KIDS), and members of the OC Ramps Team: Jordan Hoffart, Greg Lutzka, Brad McClain and more. Joining Jason on stage are Ron Allen, Bennie Maupin on saxophone (best known for Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew album), bassist Tarus Mateen, Daru Jones on drums and guitarist and professional skateboarder Chuck Treece.

Finding a Line celebrates the creativity of the full breadth of the skateboarding community, including musicians, photographers, filmmakers, painters, graphic and fashion designers, as well as skateboarders themselves. The week of Finding a Line programs at the Ford is part of an ongoing, nationwide community-sourced public art project at the intersection of music, art, photography, filmmaking and skateboarding. In 2015, Moran collaborated and co-curated a similar Finding a Line event at The Kennedy Center with Ben Ashworth, a well-known force in the local DC skating community and faculty member at George Mason University’s School of Art, and Garth Ross, former VP of Community Engagement at The Kennedy Center and currently Executive Director of the Schwarzman Center at Yale University.

“Finding a Line means finding my own line in life. It means getting out into the city, discovering other people and discovering myself.” – Skateboarder Tatiana Kolina

MORE FINDING A LINE:

#FindingALine by Garth Ross and Ben Ashworth on the Ford Blog


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