Went to HR-57 over the weekend, a great little spot at 14th and Q in Northwest D.C. The place is named after the congressional resolution declaring jazz a unique American institution.

The bar itself is a non-profit. So they don’t sell much in the way of booze or food. Cover is ten bucks, and for three more you can bring your own beer or wine. They usually sell one plate of soul food. The night we were there featured fried chicken, collards, and some red beans and rice for six bucks.

The band in the photos is the Donvonte McCoy Quartet. McCoy’s a jazz landmark in D.C., and a terrific talent on trumpet. But it’s the guy on the piano who blew me away. Unfortunately, I don’t recall his name. He came to D.C. from the Bahamas by way of New Orleans, and is now studying at Howard University. He’s really, really good. Unfortunately, there was no mic on the piano — or if there was, it was way too low — so he was often drowned out.

In any case, the place is a great time, if a little sweaty in the summer. But everything in D.C. is sweaty come August.

More after the break.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 at 8:12 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Photo Blogging, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.