NIGHT MOVES : Sharing the Spotlight : JP’s Lounge pianist Karen Hernandez enjoys open-mike night, when fellow professionals and lots of amateurs join her and drummer Frank Wilson.

Karen Hernandez had so much fun working at JP’s Lounge in Burbank one recent Thursday night, she just had to tell someone.

“It was fantastic. We must have had about 25 people sitting in. You could have taken that show to Las Vegas. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep,” the pianist said in a phone call early the next day.

“There was a guy named Logan who sang ‘A Night in Tunisia’ in a style like the great singer Leon Thomas. There was Nina Shannon, who has a gospel style, and then there were a lot of others,” she said, describing the evening’s goings-on. “There’s so much talent in the Los Angeles area, and not everybody gets a chance to work.”

Hernandez, in tandem with drummer Frank Wilson, has been working Thursdays through Saturdays at the small room for more than two years. The pair also appear Mondays through Wednesdays at the Lounge’s sister club, JP’s Money Tree in Toluca Lake. (The “JP” stands for Joe Piemonte, who owns both rooms.)

The pianist particularly relishes Thursdays, when guests drop by and the mike is open to all. “I just love the excitement of a lot of players,” she said.

Occasionally, those who sit in are professionals, such as saxophonists Benn Clatworthy and Rickey Woodard, or singers Jimmy Spencer (featured Mondays at the Money Tree) or Larry Green. Green and Woodard appear on a new Hernandez-Wilson CD, “Soundsphere to You” on DeGrand Records.

But more often than not, they’re amateurs, and this group really tugs at Hernandez’s heart. “I like to see everybody be able to get up and do something, especially the ones who are serious and trying,” she said. “Sometimes there’ll be so many people there to perform that I’ll maybe squeeze in only one short break all night.”

Seeing singers and other performers grow and improve over time is a thrill for Hernandez, and she takes an active part in the development of artists she calls “her family.”

“Sometimes I’ll sit with them on a break and coach them, almost like I’m giving a little clinic,” she said. “I’ll give them ideas about what to do, like telling them to pull the mike back when they hit a strong note, or how to end a tune by making a fist, so that we know they want to stop.”

One constant in Hernandez’s musical life is Wilson, who has toured with jazz organist Jimmy Smith, among many others. “Frank wanted to get off the road about the time I started at the Lounge, and I gave up a bit of my wages so we could hire him,” Hernandez said.

She’s glad she did. “He’s a soulful drummer, and real steady,” she said. “If I try a rhythmic pattern, he goes right with me.”

Likewise, Wilson is a fan of the pianist. “She’s wonderful. She can accompany any singer and make them sound like they’re in heaven,” he said.

Hernandez, a native of Salt Lake City, has been a regular at Valley nightspots for almost 20 years. She feels there’s something very special about JP’s Lounge, which used to be pretty much just a local drinkers’ hangout. “It was a place where people played Pac-Man, really an un-hip place. But now that neighborhood bar has turned into something else,” she said.

Where and When

Location: JP’s Lounge, 3718 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank.

Hours: Pianist Karen Hernandez and drummer Frank Wilson play 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

Price: No cover, no minimum.

Call: (818) 845-1800.

Other performances: Hernandez and Wilson also play 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Mondays through Wednesdays at JP’s Money Tree, 10149 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake. (818) 769-8800.