Though Irregardless has had music for many, many years, most bar/restaurant jazz now is relatively new. In Durham there are the Durham Hotel, Arcana, & Kingfisher, with Hayti's Sunday jazz series; in Saxpahaw, the Eddy Pub; in Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Hillsboro, Imbibe, Speakeasy, The Cave, & the Yonder Bar; in the greater Raleigh area, Bond Brothers Eastside, Catalan Tapas Bar, Revival 1869, Niche Wine Lounge, & Pimiento Tea Room. Plus, there are other restaurants/bars presenting jazz occasionally.
So the local scene has grown mainly around the edges of two primary local jazz venues. It isn't making local musicians rich, but there are bits & pieces to help them put together with other work they do. There seems to be enough jazz around to satisfy local fans. And that's fine with me. I don't have to use this website/blog to promote local jazz.
What do I do then? Good question. Though I think most local jazz fans satisfactorily find the jazz they need, there is no area jazz calendar right now that reaches a large group of people other than the Durham Jazz Workshop's email list. And, there are some people who don't know thy can find live jazz here. They may have found jazz on WNCU but have no link to everything that's happening.
I'll keep this website/blog live, using it to keep track of who's playing where, which others are free to do. Meanwhile I've got the challenge of what to do next. Should be interesting...