Jazz Pianist Harry Appelman's "The Rhythm Road American Music Abroad" Tour

Harry Appelman has been playing jazz piano in the metropolitan Washington, DC area for more than two decades. He is currently performing with his own Duende Quartet, the Afro Bop Alliance, and Lisa Moscatiello and the Space Dots. In the summer months, he frequently plays with the Latin flavor dance band Rumba Club.

Harry has played most of the prominent jazz venues in and around Washington, D.C. including Blues Alley, Twins Lounge, and the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Associated Content caught up with Harry upon his return from a six week tour of Turkey, the Middle East, Cyprus, Albania, and Bosnia. The Duende Quartet toured those destinations under The Rhythm Road American Music Abroad program sponsored by the United States Department of State in conjunction with Jazz at Lincoln Center.

CG- Who are the members of the Duende Quartet?

HA- I play piano, Josh Schwartzman plays bass, Sam Turner plays percussion, and Mark Merella plays percussion.

CG- How did the Duende Quartet get started?

HA- I put the quartet together 3 years ago to apply for this program [the Rhythm Road American Music Abroad program] which was then called the Jazz Ambassadors program. We applied and didn't get it, but then we applied again last year and did get it. Duende Quartet played steady gigs in DC for awhile. We played downtown in Art Gallery Grill.

The style is Latin Jazz. We have 2 hand percussionists which I like because it's easy to play with the percussionists playing by hand. Drummers can sometimes be very loud.

CG- Why does the United States government fund this program?

HA- The goal is to show another side of America, to show the positive side of American culture. There's an emphasis on jazz because it's an American art form but they also sent some hip hop groups.

They send groups all over the world. Not the standard tourist countries, the less visited, more remote, developing world.

CG- What is some of the music that Duende Quartet played on this tour?