Virtuoso cellist and composer Janel Leppin finds joy and fellowship with her Ensemble Volcanic Ash, an extraordinary group that combines highly detailed composition and improvisation. Out of the ashes, something strange and beautiful is born. Emanating from the capacious imagination of Janel Leppin, Ensemble Volcanic Ash materialized after years of incubation on Washington D.C.'s verdant new music, jazz and improvised music scenes. The group's eponymous Cuneiform album captures Leppin's highly personal vision, a stylistically polymorphous sound that the Washington Post aptly describes as "embodying all the complexity and grace of human cooperation - that intuitive, empathetic, semi-telepathic teamwork thing that helps set us apart as a species." A composer and cellist who's honed a singular synthesis of composition, orchestration and improvisation, Leppin is best known as half of the experimental duo Janel and Anthony, which she co-leads with her husband guitarist Anthony Pirog, as well as for her membership in and songwriting for the sadly short-lived art/punk D.C. sensation Priests. With the chamber-jazz Ensemble Volcanic Ash she steps forward as a bandleader in her own right, delivering a gorgeous debut brimming with singular musicians. The seven-piece group melds an illustrious array of D.C. talent into a glimmering expressive organism that surges, expands, ebbs and dances in multiple directions at once. "This work is a braiding together of over 32 years of classical and jazz study on the cello with more than 20 years performing in Washington D.C.," Leppin says. "It is a distinct place to learn and try new things. I've worked with some of these musicians for well over a decade and I think it shows in the music." - Janel Leppin : Cello, Korg Polyphonic Ensemble - Luke Stewart : Bass - Kim Sator : Harp - Sarah Hughes : Alto Saxophone - Brian Settles : Tenor Saxophone - Anthony Pirog : Guitar - Larry Ferguson : Drums
