Will Rast Piano Jazz

News

Funk Ark's Debut
From the Rooftops
Out June 14, 2011

Buy "From the Rooftops Cover

Recorded at ESL Music studios in Washington, D.C., by Thievery Corporation's sound engineer Christopher 'Stone' Garret, From the Rooftops is the funk-tastic debut album from ESL's newest artist signing, The Funk Ark! Fronted by keyboard savant and long-time ESL Music session player Will Rast, the album delivers a healthy dose of vintage afrobeat, latin, and funk stylings. Recalling the best of Afrika 70, the JB's and the Fania Allstars all at once, The Funk Ark is your new one-stop shop for booty-shaking vintage grooves. Shout it from the rooftops!

From the Rooftops is available through the ESL shop, iTunes, Amazon and fine record shops near you!

ESL Signs
Funk Ark

Thievery Corporation's Eighteenth Street Lounge (ESL) records has signed Will Rast's world funk ensemble, The Funk Ark. Based in Washington, D.C., the band has a debut album recorded which will be released on ESL Music in June 2011.

Will Rast
"Impressionable Youth"

Impressionable Youth CD Cover

Buy the CD

Released in 2006, Impressionable Youth was Will Rast's second album of straight ahdead jazz. The jazz piano virtuoso plays with intensity and direction. His song writing, however, sets him apart. Rast's stunning compositions bridge the gap between childhood wonderment and the reality of life in the 21st century.

Will Rast
"Impressionable Youth"

Impressionable Youth CD Cover

Buy the CD

Released in 2006, Impressionable Youth is Will Rast's second album of straight ahdead jazz. The jazz piano virtuoso plays with intensity and direction. His song writing, however, sets him apart. Rast's stunning compositions bridge the gap between childhood wonderment and the reality of life in the 21st century.

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Will Rast Jazz
On iTunes

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Buy the album and individual songs on Apple's iTunes and download them directly to your iPod!!!

Click here!

iTunes Customer Reviews

Rast is next big thing! BUY THIS ALBUM!!!
 — by jazzlove20

"Rast is THE up and coming jazz artist. This is an excellent example of his early work, and is only a small taste of what this versatile musician is capable of producing. As a local of the DC area I was recently lucky enough to see this prodigy play live at Blues Alley in Georgetown. The reviews don't lie. For such a young artist Will exhibits the improvisational genius and polished musical technique of jazz masters twice his age. This album is a breath of life in a genre that has suffered much neglect. If you love improv jazz, BUY IT."

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Will Rast & THE FUNK ARK

Will Rast

"One of the most dynamic and funky pianists to play a nightclub in Savannah in years, this Washington, D.C.-based artist plays in Grammy-winning R&B vocalist Mya's touring band and leads his own group of ace players." Will's three-night gig provided "one of the best weekends of live jazz downtown we will see this year ... ."
 - Jim Reed,
Savannah Connect

DC-based keyboard wizard Will Rast has been delighting audiences for more than 20 years with his extraordinary piano virtuosity and distinctive style. At 30, Rast has become a groundbreaking force on the contemporary jazz funk scene.

Rast appears regularly in the Mid-Atlantic and nationwide and internationally with a variety of popular acts, including his own Funk Afro-Beat ensemble, The Funk Ark, which released its debut album From the Rooftops on ESL Records June 14. 2011.

The Funk Ark is a world funk ensemble based in Washington, D.C. The group draws on influences from the African and Latin funk/dance music scenes of the 1960s and '70s and the result is a gritty and soulful mix of inspired afrobeat and big band funk. Keyboardist and songwriter Will Rast is well known for his work as a touring sideman and studio musician with a veritable encyclopedia of artists both locally and internationally, including grammy winner Mya, Federico Aubele, Natalia Clavier, Ocote Soul Sounds, RAMP, grammy nominee Raheem Devaughn and Justin Jones. The coming year will find him playing on no less than five records produced for the ESL Label, including The Funk Ark's From the Rooftops, as well as albums by Thievery Corporation, Frank Mitchell Jr., and Ocote Soul Sounds, featuring Martin Perna of Antibalas and Adrian Quesada of the Grammy winning Austin-based Grupo Fantasma.

Will Rast and The Funk Ark

THE FUNK ARK: Matt Rippetoe, Joe Hererra, Elijah Balbed, Greg Boyer, Jeff Franca, Marc Blackwood, Greg Loman, Josh Kay Rodney Richardson and Will Rast with special guest, Morgan Price.

Click on the link below to check out Will Rast & Friends' recent appearance at Washington, D.C.'s legendary "Bohemian Caverns!" jazz club.


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