Latin Jazz band concert in Dhaka featuring the Duende Quartet

U.S. Embassy will host a free outdoor jazz concert on March 16, 2009, featuring the Latin jazz band the Duende Quartet. The concert will be from 7:30pm to 9:30pm at the GSO Field, General Services Compound, U.S. Embassy Dhaka (Nutanbazaar, east of the Embassy).

Free concert tickets are available at The American Center (House 110, Road 27, Banani), the Alliance Francaise, the Goethe-Institut, Golpea Burger (Bailey Road Branch), Bangladesh Short Film Forum (108, Aziz Super Market, 2nd Floor), Pizza Hut (Gulshan and Dhanmondi locations), Western Grill (36, Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Banani), and Coffee World (Road 11, Banani).

The Band:
Harry Appelman – piano & keyboards ; Josh Schwartzman – bass; Sam Turner and Mark Merella - various hand percussion
The Duende Quartet, formed in 2004 and based in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, M.D. areas, crafts a unique Latin jazz sound.

About Their Music
The Duende Quartet is devoted to playing Latin Jazz in the style of Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader and Willie Bobo with a nod to the Blue Note sound of the’60’s. In a unique small group setting (with piano as the lead instrument) Duende Quartet captures the vibe of the jazz combo while using the rhythms of a Cuban conjunto. Duende has a vast repertoire ranging from traditional Cuban songs to modern jazz compositions. Along with more traditional Latin Jazz fare, the quartet’s repertoire includes an energetic rendition of Cole Porter’s “So in Love” and a unique take on Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson”, with just a hint of Led Zeppelin.

Duende Quartet band members

About the Tour:
Duende is proud to have been chosen again by Jazz at Lincoln Center as one of ten American groups to tour abroad in 2009, under the auspices of the State Department, as part of the program Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad. This tour, from March 4 to March 30, will include India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Taiwan (see blog posting for details.) Formerly the Jazz Ambassadors, this program has hosted such legendary musicians as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie. Duende returned from a successful tour to Turkey, Albania, Cyprus and Bosnia in February 2007