Duke Ellington performed at Colorado's KFG Radio Studio for Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora on November 3, 1954.
NEDERLAND -- Jazz is primarily connected to the East Coast, with the style first developing in New Orleans and spreading all the way to New York. In the first half of the twentieth century, the majority of jazz hotspots started on the East Coast.
On the west side of the continental United States, hotspots were essentially non-existent. However, one area, often considered the “Harlem of the West,” became the sole spot in the West US where jazz truly flourished.
The town known today as Five Points was one of the earliest developed in Denver, Colorado, following the California Gold Rush. By the 1920s, the town housed over 90% of the Mile High City’s Black population.
Jazz originated from Black populations in the East, who combined African rhythmic elements and European harmonic elements with American ragtime and blues. As the predominantly Black musicians started to tour the country, they faced the inevitability of segregation.
Five Points, named for a five-way junction in the town, gave the musicians a place to stay as they toured. Outright segregation was not illegal in Colorado at the time; however, inherent segregation still generally separated Black and white populations.
This included discriminatory housing policies, one of the reasons why Five Points became a primarily Black town. As more venues and residencies developed, jazz musicians could stay in the town and perform additional shows.
The town hosted many all-time greats throughout the Jazz Age, with the Rossonian Hotel hosting acts including Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole. Some, including George Morrison and Charles “Charlie” Burrell, ultimately settled in Colorado.
45 miles west of Denver, another area served as the West’s only Black-owned resort until 1965 – Lincoln Hills, opened in Gilpin County in 1922. Blacks could vacation, perform, rest, and even buy and own property in the resort, a refuge from the Jim Crow policies prevalent in places including Glenwood Springs and Estes Park.
Many jazz greats also performed in the resort’s live entertainment space, the Wink’s Lodge, including Ellington, Count Basie, and Billy Eckstine. Many stayed in Lincoln Hills, performed in Denver during the day, and traveled back to the lodge to rest.
The Jazz Age, which lasted from around the 1920s to the 1940s, came from a musical style developed completely on the East side of North America. For musicians traveling to the West, though, Colorado became their haven.
Knotted Root Brewing hosts Jazz Sundays every week, so be sure to head to 250 North Caribou Street in Nederland on Sundays at 5 p.m.
