The Colored Musicians' Club Museum
By: Doug Curry - “Blacks & Blues Correspondent."
There are places we have never been to, which when we finally visit them for the first time, we will wonder 'why?' How did they escape our notice? How did we pass by a place, over and over, look right at it, and yet, never even wonder about it, not give it a second thought - let alone, imagine what it held in store?
The building at 145 Broadway would just be an old building on a Buffalo city block but for an intermittent throb of the comings and goings of the dedicated and the curious. The Colored Musicians Club Museum is housed in the building. Named for a self-anointed 'colored' wing of the Musicians Local in 1917 by blacks whose participation had been rejected by Musicians Local 533, it was incorporated in 1935. The Colored Musicians Union morphed in the Colored Musicians Club, a place where black musicians gathered to practice and jam, to share information about gigs, musical trends, and lend each other communal support.
Like chitterlings and chicken wings, when put to use out of necessity but fussed over with tender loving care, the discarded became a delicacy all its own. In times of segregation and limited opportunity, the club and its environs became a welcoming scene - a melting pot for local and internationally acclaimed impresarios of improvisation - the men and women of jazz. And just as chitterlings and chicken wings remained special once there came times of steak and caviar, so too did this special environment remained a cherished place for those 'in the know.'
Historic photos give casual evidence of what royalty walked in and out of there. There is Miles, standing in a doorway, coolly (of course) eyeing trumpet great Dizzy Gillespie grooving on the piano! The echo of Ella's mellifluous scatting is etched in the woodwork. And there is the inspiration that elevated the game of so many local and regional musicians who rubbed elbows and 'cut heads' with these notables.
Along the way, there were lean times when the space at 145 served as little more than a rehearsal hall and jam space. But owing to the cultural richness of the Buffalo scene, particularly as related to black music, there was always at least a trickle ... those who knew of the club via the underground 'grapevine' that really did and does exist, the tourists stepping off the beaten path from the theater district or better-established venues which inhabit a few miles radius, those who bar hopped from the Pine Grill, the Lafayette Tap Room.
Before the nowadays murals were displayed on the building's front, a trip to the club at 145 was an almost clandestine affair. There was and is that vaunted narrow staircase that leads the narrow door to a club that appeals to the imagination as, and certainly could be, a speakeasy. There is a simple bar that runs the length of one wall and an assortment of miss-matched tables and chairs for those lucky enough to sit on a busy night. The stage is a magical, lit area where musicians trade licks and greetings, among each other and with the crowd.
Nowadays, the Club is also a museum, with interactive exhibits on the first floor which appeal to delighted tourists and schoolchildren, as well. The Buffalo city fathers and cultural activists have taken in earnest to presenting and preserving this historic treasure with pride. Operating by use of membership fees and donations, and now increasingly with private grants, the Colored Musicians Club Museum is a mainstay of any citywide exposition of its proud jazz history. Welcoming the world traveled regionally acclaimed musicians alike; it provides a forum for modernity, steeped in the historical. And having grown from humble beginnings among those rejected it is a necessary part of any Buffalo citywide jazz ‘happening’ wishing to be at all authentic.
The Club was awarded its excellence in historic preservation by the Governor’s office at the end of 2019.
Here is what some people say:
“Intriguing Place With A Fun Atmosphere”
"Lined with photos of famous musicians including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, the interior pays tribute to the venue's cultural and musical legacies."
"It is a Jewel that brings people together from all parts of the region & beyond AND all backgrounds...with the common love of Jazz."
Contact info:
Colored Musicians Club Museum
145 Broadway St, Buffalo, NY 14203-1629
Website: www.cmctheclub.com
+1 716-855-9383
