The Duende Quartet (top) and the Opus Akoben Hip-Hop Ensemble (bottom)
Both photos courtesy Jazz at Lincoln Center

The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad is a program developed by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to identify talented jazz and urban music artists in the United States and give them a chance to perform internationally before a wide variety of audiences. The program is designed to foster cultural exchange in areas with limited access to American music and culture. For the second year in a row, these talented young artists will perform at National Geographic before leaving the States on their world tours.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2
6 p.m. - Alvin Atkinson & The Sound Merchants integrate heavy jazz and blues with rhythms and melodies from around the world.
7:15 p.m. - Duende Quartet is devoted to playing Latin jazz in the style of Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader, and Willie Bobo with a taste of the legendary Blue Note Records sound of the ’60s.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23
6 p.m. - The Charlie Porter Quartet specializes in developing new music while keeping tradition alive with a standard jazz repertoire.
7:15 p.m. - Adam Klipple & Drive-By Leslie fuses funk, world music, dissonant harmonies, and improvisations in a way that is expansive and accessible.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9
6 p.m. - Ari Roland Quartet has been performing together for two decades. In addition to a nine-year run at the New York City jazz club Smalls, the group toured internationally and has recorded extensively.
7:15 p.m. - T.V.O.A. blends classic hip-hop with R&B nuances, creating music that goes straight to the heart and lyrics that resonate with the soul.

FRIDAY, MARCH 30
6 p.m. - Afar is an instrumental hip-hop band with jazz, R & B and gospel influences.
7:15 p.m. - Opus Akoben Hip-Hop Ensemble describes its sound as being “what Sly and the Family Stone would sound like if they did hip-hop.”