Last Thursday night, I ventured out to the uber-chill jazz club, Bohemian Caverns, to check out The Hot of Nights – Raleigh, NC-based friends Chris Boerner, Matt Douglas, and Nick Baglio – with Dutchman Nicolay, a member of the Grammy-nominated Wilmington, NC band, The Foreign Exchange.  Together, they have re-arranged Nicolay’s instrumental cuts from his 2010 release, City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya, which was inspired by his stay in the Tokyo district.  The result is a laid-back groove of experimental and soulful jazz that had every person in the sold out show at Bohemian Caverns mesmerized.  With a tour that has included the Blue Note in New York, it is apparent that the Hot at Nights with Nicolay are making a solid mark on the East Coast jazz scene.

If you missed the DC shows, the quartet will be playing the final show of their tour tonight at the 8×10 in Baltimore. And, a download of The Shibuya Sessions EP is available for free at The Foreign Exchange‘s website.

Also, if you have not been to Bohemian Caverns, do yourself a favor and go. Founded in 1926, the venue has played host to many leading musical artists including Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Shirley Horn and Charles Mingus, and remains one of the best jazz clubs in DC.