by Ed Stansbury and Giovanni Russonello
After 18 years on 14th Street NW and four months of limbo while management worked things out with the D.C. government, HR-57 is alive and swingin’ on H Street NE. The new digs – which make it H Street’s only jazz club – are a bit more intimate, which means everyone is close enough to appreciate the music loud and clear.
On Friday night, the Antonio Parker Quartet’s soul-infused hard bop – a constant at the old location – was back. The group offered renditions of standards like “In Your Own Sweet Way,” “Little Sunflower” (with the illustrious drummer and HR regular Jimmy “Junebug” Jackson sitting in on vocals) and “Birk’s Works.” And, to the relief of at least one audience member in the video below, HR still encourages guests to bring their own booze. Here’s CapitalBop’s video feature on the club’s reopening.