Tracker Pixel for Entry

​New Duke Ellington Mural Painted Near Site of Historic Recording

Arts | September 15th, 2021

By Alicia Underlee Nelson

alicia@hpr1.com

Downtown Fargo has a new mural that commemorates a music legend and a Grammy-winning concert. Artist Jeff Knight completed a painting of Duke Ellington on the alley side of the Rhombus Guys building at 606 Main Ave. this summer. The mural features the composer, pianist and band leader at his piano against an aqua background dotted with other musical instruments.

The painting is just steps from the site of the Crystal Ballroom, which stood at the corner of 6th St. and 1st Ave. S. The municipal auditorium’s second-floor dance hall hosted prominent jazz and big band musicians and well-attended dances until 1957. The show Ellington and his Famous Orchestra played in the Crystal Ballroom on November 7, 1940 might just be a memory if two former college DJs, Richard Burris and Jack Towers, hadn’t gotten permission to record it.

Towers later made a tape of the show for a friend. The bootleg circled Europe in the 1960s and 1970s before it was officially released in 1978. It won a Grammy Award in 1980.

“I was shocked that I had lived my whole life here and had not heard of that story,” said Knight. He wanted to create a mural to commemorate that particular moment in Fargo music history.

The mural is the first in the Fargo Music Icons Mural series. It’s funded in part by a grant from The Arts Partnership in Fargo.

“That's when I looped in friends Cody Schuler and Gia Rassier to help with establishing a springboard with which we could make these public murals accessible so more people could learn about their historical value,” he explained. “Cody developed a website (fargomurals.com) and Gia is helping with the mural's inclusion on a variety of experiential walking tours.”

Additional murals are planned in the coming months. Updates will be posted on the website as details are finalized.

“We're hoping to do some more murals in the future with a Fargo-Moorhead connection, including Bob Dylan, Peggy Lee, and Bobby Vee,” Knight explained. “We're just looking for the right spaces and a bit of funding to cover those future murals.”

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comFM Pride Week returns to the Fargo-Moorhead metro August 3-10. A snapshot of events are listed below. Discover event descriptions and locations as well as volunteer opportunities online at…

September 12-13Brewhalla, 1666 1st Ave N, Fargo Hold onto your hats and step right up to the main event! DrekkerFest 11 kicks off with Timebomb Pro Wrestling on Friday night from 8-10 p.m. Enjoy an evening of suplexes, steel kegs,…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I’m going to go ahead and say it. I have trust issues with a lot of things and artificial intelligence (AI) is one of them. Yes, it’s a tool that can sit shotgun and make your everyday tasks…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comIf a child is drowning in a ditch, will you get your shoes muddy? “Big Moma” Leah Drumwright was a Black slave in the 19th century who had one of her numerous babies and was nursing an infant.…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com There seems to be a renaissance in Italian restaurants in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. It’s a welcome change from just sporting an Olive Garden as a lone option. No offense to Marilyn Hagerty’s…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Bluegrass is a genre of music that is often associated with the American South. Many people would express incredulity at being told there is a thriving bluegrass and folk music community…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Now available on HBO after a theatrical debut earlier this year at Tribeca in the Spotlight Documentary section, “Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print” considers the groundbreaking impact of the…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com 2025 marks three years of the Annual Vergas Area Backroads Art Crawl. The art crawl is sponsored by the Vergas Arts Club. The Arts Club also happens to be part of the Vegas Community Club and both…

Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Dr. Marc Sapir, MD, MPHjessica@pellienpublicrelations.com Across America, families are quietly struggling with a rising challenge: how to care for aging parents, siblings, grandparents, neighbors and friends. Most seniors want…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…