Janel Leppin’s Ensemble Volcanic Ash

About

Janel Leppin is one of the District’s finest bandleaders, harnessing a nuanced sensibility for both composition and improvisation that produces restless, complex sonic textures ranging from lush and beautiful to sharp and arresting. She’s widely respected in the DMV for her work leading her Ensemble Volcanic Ash, and as half of the power duo Janel and Anthony (with guitarist Anthony Pirog). She’s joined here by her Ensemble Volcanic Ash, an arrangement of some of the best improvisers in D.C.: Pirog, tenor saxophonist Brian Settles, bassist Luke Stewart, and drummer Larry Ferguson. The group’s music ranges from lush soundscapes indebted to Alice Coltrane to frenetic, experimental anthems in the vein of Abdul Wadud. Here they perform music from their March 2026 album Pluto in Aquarius.