# New mural highlights Duke Ellington’s connection to Fargo: Video, Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2021/09/17/new-mural-highlights-duke-ellingtons-connection-to-fargo-video-photos/
- Published: 2021-09-17T00:01:55+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**A Fargo artist recently painted a mural of the legendary artist and his historic
Fargo recording in 1940. Duke Ellington’s 1940 show at Fargo’s Crystal Ballroom 
has become a legend in jazz circles. But despite a recording of the show winning
a Grammy Award and being housed in the Smithsonian Institute, the monumental concert
is often overlooked in Fargo itself.**

A Fargo artist is hoping to change that with a mural he painted to honor the iconic
musician and that momentous recording.

Jeff Knight spent about three weeks earlier this summer painting a portrait of the
great composer on a west-facing wall in a downtown alley, just steps away from where
the Crystal Ballroom was located, on the corner of Broadway and First Avenue South.

“I just thought it was interesting and kind of sad that I’ve spent most of my life
growing up here and never heard of it,” Knight says of the hallmark recording, “
The Duke 1940: ‘Live from The Crystal Ballroom in Fargo, N.D.”

Knight says he’s a casual jazz fan, but as he’s learned more about the legendary
Crystal Ballroom show, he’s come to appreciate its place in Fargo history. He even
sought out and purchased a vinyl copy of the recording that was released in 1980.

He started thinking of a mural to celebrate that night a few years ago and then 
stumbled on the spot after a visit downtown. Knight tracked down the building’s 
owner, got permission and was ready to start work when the COVID-19 pandemic shut
the project down last year.

After getting a grant from The Arts Partnership, he started up on the project earlier
this summer.

“It was a fun job. People who lived and worked around here would stop by and talk
or ask questions or thank me for covering up a boring beige wall,” he says.

Knight says he still wants to tweak the painting and will add a plaque or note to
it to add some historical context. The note will also include the address to [www.fargomurals.com](https://www.fargomurals.com/),
which celebrates the public paintings about town. He has plans to do additional 
portraits of artists with strong Fargo-Moorhead ties, such as Peggy Lee, Buddy Holly
and Bob Dylan.

The Ellington painting features the great musician at his piano, but also includes
a number of Easter egg icons. Stars scatter throughout the painting, symbolizing
the first time the group played “Stardust” live. A Grammy trophy is for the recording’s
significance, and a record serves as a nod to how the concert was recorded straight
to vinyl. The hat was part of Ellington’s signature style.

![Jack Towers took this shot of Duke Ellington playing at the Crystal Ballroom on
Nov. 7, 1940. Photo courtesy of NDSU Archives / Special to The Forum](https://www.
inforum.com/entertainment/7137849-3kcde5-080521.DUKE.FARGO.PIANO/alternates/BASE_FREE/
080521.DUKE.FARGO.PIANO)

Jack Towers took this shot of Duke Ellington playing at the Crystal Ballroom on 
Nov. 7, 1940. Photo courtesy of NDSU Archives / Special to The Forum

The Pullman car of a train at the top symbolizes how the band arrived, but also 
how they were treated as Black people in the 1940s. Knight says one story is that
the musicians had to use the car as their dressing room. They also had to carry 
their instruments five blocks south to the Crystal Ballroom in a cold, wet, heavy
snow.

By all accounts, the group seemed tired as they arrived and Ellington was dismissive
of 20-somethings Jack Towers and Richard Burris when they asked if they could record
the show as the lineup featured some new horn players. Still, he allowed it — and
the crowd of about 700 loved it. The band reportedly gathered around after the nearly
three-hour show to listen back to the performance and were impressed by the sound
quality.

Towers and Burris gave copies to the musicians but vowed never to release the recordings,
though they also gifted copies to friends.

![The Crystal Ballroom was located on Broadway and First Avenue South in downtown
Fargo. Special to The Forum](https://www.inforum.com/entertainment/7137875-tz6r8d-
080521.F.FF.DUKEFARGO.CRYSTALBALLROOM/alternates/BASE_LANDSCAPE/080521.F.FF.DUKEFARGO.
CRYSTALBALLROOM)

The Crystal Ballroom was located on Broadway and First Avenue South in downtown 
Fargo. Special to The Forum

Nonetheless, bootleg copies circulated and became treasured in jazz circles. After
Ellington died in 1974, his family decided to release the recordings. The album 
won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band in 1980, and
a friend and scholar of Ellington’s has said, “There are few live recordings (of
Ellington) any better than this.”

The obscured legacy of the recording mirrors the location of Knight’s mural, tucked
away in an alley, visible only to the west.

“I’d really love it to be in a prominent place, but I also like it being as close
to the (Crystal Ballroom) site as you can get,” he says. “Having something bright
and new to see at the end of the block is kind of fun. It’s fun for people to investigate.
It gives people that impetus to search out what the source of Duke Ellington is 
here.”

![Fargo artist Jeff Knight poses in front of the mural he created celebrating Duke
Ellington's 1940 performance at what was the Crystal Ballroom, just across the alley.
John Lamb / The Forum](https://www.inforum.com/incoming/7137831-svteez-080521.F.
FF.DUKEFARGO/alternates/BASE_FREE/080521.F.FF.DUKEFARGO)

Fargo artist Jeff Knight poses in front of the mural he created celebrating Duke
Ellington’s 1940 performance at what was the Crystal Ballroom, just across the alley.
John Lamb / The Forum

### _Related_