The Ari Roland Quartet, a jazz band from New York City, toured Algeria from May 19 to 24. During their stay, the quartet performed concerts and workshops for music students in Algiers, Bejaia, and Setif. In Algiers, the band drew a crowd of 400 at the Bab Ezzouar mall and another 400 at Palais de la Culture, thanks in part to a new PAS marketing technique: rollerblading flier distributers.

During a performance at the Embassy, Marine Detachment Commander Douglas Hardee, a drummer for the Marine Band, wowed the crowd with the sounds of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. The quartet also taught Master-classes at the Algerian Conservatory and gave a live performance on Jil FM, Algeria's new youth radio station that has more than 22 million listeners. The quartet was universally praised as talented and professional, signing autographs and posing for countless photos with newfound fans.