​​​​BUFFALO, N.Y. — ​African American history, musical history and Buffalo's history are all deeply intertwined. The historic Colored Musicians Club and Jazz Museum in Buffalo highlights those connections.

Danny Williams, president of the Board of Directors of the Colored Musicians Club and Jazz Museum Inc., says the museum's goal is to preserve the legacy of African American music in the Buffalo area and to allow people to understand the importance that it had in the process of people becoming American citizens.

The museum offers a wide range of views into the African American experience starting through music - from gospel to now.

“When we started in this country, we were stripped of our music,” he said. “And one of the first things that happened in 1705 was we were not allowed to have drums or horns. That was in the state of Virginia, followed by South Carolina and then the rest of the south. At some point in time those things changed, and as they did, the music that we got into, we created our own. We had gospel, blues, ragtime, we got into big band, bee bop, R ‘n’ B, modern jazz, smooth jazz and rap, and we're still continuing to grow but all the roots of all the genres of music goes back to gospel itself.”

Williams says the performance space where many historic artists once came to perform is upstairs and is currently being renovated. You can learn more about the Colored musicians Club and Jazz Museum here.