The Funk Ark

Picture a warm summer evening in the late '60s when all the cats have come to jam. With the exception of a rap over the easy-going groove on one track, the instrumental From the Rooftops conjures up a time and season—imagine Booker T. & the MGs as the house band, laying down their organ-flavored recipe as other cooks stop by to stir in their ingredients. “Horchata” sounds a little like War with its playful polyrhythms; “Carretera Libre” and other horn-section-powered tracks give a hint of Chicago Transit Authority (but with a more comfortable sense for slippery soul rhythms). It even sounds like Ray Manzarek dropped in with a little of his rainy might piano on “Katipo (The Spider).” Actually, it's all t he work of a crack, eight-piece Washington, D.C. band whose infectious melodies and irresistible beats promise a damn good night of live music.