Alternative R&B act Columbia Nights put a contemporary, somewhat left-of-center spin on late-'70s and early-'80s crossover jazz that incorporated touches of laid-back hip-hop. Prior to starting the group, musicians and producers John E. Daise and Hayling Price had played together in a Philadelphia-based band. They lost contact but crossed paths once more in Washington, D.C., where they began to collaborate in a home studio setting. After adding Sarai Abdul-Malik, a vocalist enrolled in the jazz program at Howard University, the group continued to develop material. Their first releases were digital singles, and both were covers: "Stormy Weather" (Little Dragon) and "Feel" (George Duke). Shortly after that, the trio released Dawn/Dusk, a seven-track EP, on the Record Breakin' label. ~ Andy Kellman