The museum was founded in 1997 by Leonard Garment, then Counsel to two U.S. presidents and an accomplished jazz saxophonist, Abraham David Sofaer, former U.S. district judge who gave the initial gift in honor of his brother-in-law Richard J. Scheuer, Jr., and matching funds from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, Harlem Community Development Corporation.

--> Multi-Grammy winner, bassist, bandleader and composer Christian McBride is the founding Artistic Director of the museum and has been a guiding force in programming since 2002.

They span and synthesize straight-ahead, experimental, free-leaning jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip hop and rhythm and blues.

Multi-Grammy winner, Bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and composer Jon Batiste has worked with the museum since 2008 when he helped create Jazz Is: Now!

[4] In August 2010, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem acquired nearly 1,000 discs of recorded radio broadcasts made by audio engineer William Savory in the midst of the swing era in the 1930s.