By Joyce Kryszak
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-924655.mp3
Buffalo, NY – Buffalo's legendary Colored Musicians Club is getting ready to take its proud history into an even prouder future for the club - and the city.
Last month, county and city officials finally came through with the $600,000 of promised cash to help transform the storied club. Club President George Scott said with that and other funding they have nearly 80 percent of the needed cash in hand.
Work to the exterior already began earlier this year. And now, Scott said they're getting ready for phase two. He said they have signed a contract with Hadley Museum Exhibits to transform the entire downstairs of the club.
"The museum will be a state-of-the-art, nothing like it in the whole world, where as you can walk in there and find out anything you ever wanted to know about any particular jazz artist," said Scott.
He said there will be revolving exhibits of artists from every age and genre of jazz. They will feature some of the legendary acts who played the club in yester years - people like Miles, Bassie, Ella and Louie. And there will be interactive fun for kids - a kind of jazz inspired guitar hero game.
But Scott said the real attraction is the club itself.
He said - even though completion is still a year off - people from all over the world are already stopping by to take a peak.
"Since all the activity and all the hoopla about us getting funded for this, we've been getting quite a few visitors already and we don't even have the finished museum yet - one man all the way from Ireland - and we're not even opened yet," said Scott. "So, I know when it's finished it's going to be fantastic."
Plans call for the renovation and new museum to be ready by next fall. That is just in time for the thousands of people from all over the country who will be visiting Buffalo for the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference. County and city officials are banking on tourism to the club and the rest of the Michigan Avenue Cultural Corridor to bring a good return on their investment.