Echoes of Ellington: A Jazz Legacy in Scranton

As we prepare for our special event on May 15 in partnership with the NEPA Philharmonic, we reflect on the deep and often surprising ties between Scranton and one of America’s greatest composers and bandleaders: Duke Ellington.

As we dig through Scranton’s cultural archives, we find gems—and sometimes juicy jazz lore. Duke Ellington, one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, had more than one brush with Scranton. One was a snowstorm-stranded no-show. The other? A bare-all, no-holds-barred interview at a Scranton motel—the Holiday Inn, Downtown Scranton.

Let’s start with the blizzard.

In 1945, Ellington was scheduled to perform at the Masonic Temple for a sold-out Buddy Club dance on Christmas night. But the Poconos had other plans. Snowed in and unable to reach the city, Ellington had to cancel last minute, leaving over $3,000 in ticket refunds and a whole ballroom of disappointed fans.

Duke Ellington’s Band Stranded in the Poconos, Fails to Appear Here, 1945 - Scranton Times.

Fast forward to October 1970: Ellington finally makes it to Scranton—not for a concert, but for a stop on his one-nighter tour. He agrees to a rare interview at the Holiday Inn downtown. The tea? He did the whole thing naked, lounging in bed, casually roasting the local reporter in between bites of room service.

The reporter was clearly hoping for a reflective, intimate interview. Duke, however, was in another mood. When asked about his songwriting, he shot back, “You can’t hold your reader’s interest with something that isn’t new.” When pressed about “relaxing,” he smirked, “Possibly to relax?”—as if to say, Isn’t that obvious?

He clowned every basic question thrown at him—charming, cheeky, and clearly not about to give this bland Scranton reporter the deep jazz soul-searching it might’ve hoped for. And then he dropped the line:

“Oh yes, we’ve played here many times...” Duke remembers. “Oh, this is where people dance.”

A nostalgic statement—but a bold one. In that one-liner, Ellington wasn’t just making a casual remark; he was reminiscing on a time when the city had soul. “This is where people dance.” Who was in the audience then? Was the Black community there? Were we in the room?

It feels almost obvious to me that we had to be. That we were. But there’s no record to call upon—no photo, no program, no byline—to confirm it. So I have to speculate. And keep digging. Digging for the memories, the oral histories, the quiet truths hidden between the lines of newspaper clippings and fading recollections.

Duke Ellington at the Masonic Temple, 1931. Article closes with “this affair which is being conducted…promises to be the outstanding dance ever held in Scranton.”

Duke Ellington at the Masonic Temple, 1938. Scranton Times

For Scranton, these moments are more than quirky trivia—they show how even a global icon like Ellington left footprints (and bare footprints, at that) on our city’s cultural memory. Whether it was a canceled show or a surreal motel chat, Ellington brought jazz, genius, and unapologetic Black authenticity wherever he went—even to a long gone Holiday Inn downtown.

Still, Scranton holds a deep connection to Ellington and the era of big band jazz. For decades, Scranton was a stop on the circuit—a “great dance town,” as Ellington himself once remarked. He and his orchestra played here many times, and the city’s musical heritage is immortalized in a mural credited by our friend, Eric Brussart, at 217 Wyoming Avenue, where Ellington’s image appears alongside local jazz legends like the Scranton Sirens and the Dorsey Brothers.

The Big Band by Eric Bussart. Photo by Jason Ardan Photography.

At the Black Scranton Project Center for Arts & Culture (BSPCAC), we honor this rich cultural lineage not only by revisiting the sounds of swing and soul, but by exploring how stories—true, embellished, or misremembered—shape local memory. As Scranton continues to preserve and promote Black cultural history, these reflections help us connect the dots between past and present.

🎶 Join us on May 15, 2025 at the BSPCAC for an evening of music, community, and celebration with the NEPA Philharmonic—a tribute to Duke Ellington’s enduring influence and the rhythm of Scranton’s own jazz legacy. 🎷