The Final Note: The club offered one of few venues for jazz in the city, but the struggling economy took its toll

Speakeasy Jazz created a community built on appreciation for music, on mutual love for the saxophone, trumpet and bass. It was, by all accounts, a place where no one felt out of place, where college seniors mingled with senior citizens, where experienced performers and jazz students played back-to-back. But in the end, the community wasn't big enough.

The club is closing tonight after a six-year run on Fourth Street in downtown Winston-Salem. It will close as it opened -- with a performance by Joe Robinson, a trumpet player and lifelong resident of Winston-Salem. The owners have no plans to open a new club, and so far, there are no plans for a new owner to reopen the club under the same name or any other.

Connie Graham, one of Speakeasy's owners, said that she and her partner, Heidi Andrew, decided to close the club because of "circumstances that are out of our control." She said that the struggling economy played into their decision.

"When you have a booming business, it doesn't shut down," she said.

Last night, the club had its final open-mike jam session. Musicians improvised, melding together sounds from a saxophone, baby grand piano and vibraphone. Elaine Russo leaned back in her seat and watched her husband, Lew, play the trumpet. Speakeasy brought them together, too, 4½ years ago. Both had been widowed, and neither was trying to meet anyone. Russo's daughter saw Lew playing on stage and decided to make a match.

"My daughter conspired with Connie (Graham) to introduce us," Elaine said with a laugh last night.

Patrons and musicians said they were sad, angry and frustrated to hear that Speakeasy was closing.

"I have been bummed all day," said Karen Shew, who sat at the bar with her husband, Dale, last night. "It's just a fun, easy place to hang out and get to know people."

Colin Tribby, the drummer in the house band, said that Speakeasy was the only place in the city where jazz musicians knew that they could have regular gigs.

"This has been a jazz institution for Winston-Salem," Tribby said. "There's going to be a void."

In a way, the bar represents more than music. Graham and Andrew were two of the first business owners to buy into the revitalization of downtown. Speakeasy was there before the new restaurants and coffee shops came. It was there when Winston-Salem was known for some of its music venues, before Ziggy's and Rubber Soul closed. It has what some patrons describe as "a New York feel" ­-- the room is narrow, lined with tables and chairs, the stage just big enough for a baby grand piano, a bass, a saxophone, a trumpet.

"It was one of our early pioneer groups that started and brought a lot of great entertainment to downtown," said Jason Thiel, the president of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership.

Graham said she and Andrew opened the club because they loved jazz. A few years ago, they tried to open a dance club, Sounds on Burke Street. That club closed after nine months. A few months before it closed, WXII-TV news anchor Tolly Carr hit and killed a pedestrian, Casey Bokhoven, nearby. Carr was charged with driving while impaired, and Bokhoven's family filed a wrongful-death suit against him and the three clubs they said served him alcohol before he drove. Sounds on Burke Street was one of the clubs named in the suit.

Graham would only say last night that "circumstances" caused Speakeasy to close.

Patrons said they believe that the club simply didn't get enough business. "I think it's terrible -- this is one of the few places you can come and listen to good music," Lew Russo said.

Then, the saxophone and piano started the opening bars of "The Nearness of You," a song written in the 1930s and played by musicians from Dizzy Gillespie to the Rolling Stones to Norah Jones.

Lew's voice stopped as he took in the music. Then he pushed back his chair.

"Let me go play this," he said.

A few tables away, Jim and Melody Burham watched and listened. They have been coming to Speakeasy since it opened -- Jim took Melody there on one of their first dates.

"It was nice just knowing that it was here," Jim Burham said. "It was a stable part of the music scene that you could just kind of know you could always come and hear good music."

"We hate to see them close," Melody Burham said. "We're just here to say goodbye."

Speakeasy Jazz, 410 W. Fourth St., will open for the last time at 7 tonight.

■ Laura Graff can be reached at 727-7279 or lgraff@wsjournal.com.