Those walking by Columbia Station, a restaurant and live jazz venue in Adams Morgan, will likely be lured inside by the smooth sounds of the Peter Edelman Trio performing there on Sunday evenings.
Pianist and band leader Edelman is joined by Bill “Magic” Lavender-Bey on bass and Percy Smith on drums. A staple at the club for many years, the trio has a settled-in, well-honed repertoire and professional rapport with both regulars and newcomers.
If you go
Peter Edelman Trio
Where: Columbia Station in Adams Morgan, 2325 18th St. NW
When: 8:30 p.m. Sunday
Info: No cover charge; 202-462-6040
“I couldn’t be happier with the venue,” Edelman said. “It’s a fantastic room to play in. The management is supportive [and] the audience is earthy, sophisticated and very enthusiastic.” Manager Aramis Abbai has been a fan of the trio for a long time, even before he joined the family-run restaurant and jazz club.
“[Edelman] is one of the best,” he said. “He’s very professional [and] leaves an impression on everyone.”
Sitting at the upright piano in front of the club’s large French windows, Edelman, along with Lavender-Bey and Smith, said he is happy to take requests from the house. The rest of the time, the trio performs standards from the jazz songbook, such as “Autumn Leaves,” “Stella by Starlight” and “Embraceable You.” Some of Edelman’s original songs are also put out to the audience with bebop thrown into the mix.
Joining the trio is a bevy of professional guest artists who are welcomed onto the stage.
“You never know who’s going to show up,” Edelman continued, with all the enthusiasm of a jazz artist in love with the spontaneity of music making. “And we really appreciate it when they do.”
Bassist Butch Warren of the group Butch Warren Experience (the trio performs with them, as well, on Wednesday and Saturday nights) will often bring along additional band members Olivier Brown on trumpet, as well as Lyle Link, Knud Jensen and Ted Efantis on saxophone, to join the trio.
Singers are also welcome to join the group. One in particular that works very well with the other band members is Diana Rodriguez. Herman Hawkins, a longtime jazz and bebop singer in D.C. venues, joins in from time to time with his favorites, “Take the E Train,” “Body and Soul” and “Falling in Love With Love.”
“Our trio and guest artists who perform with us are especially good at creating a spontaneous climate of swinging jazz music,” Edelman said.
