My principal instrument is nylon-string guitar; I also play electric guitar; electric bass (5-string fretless and fretted); NS Design bass cello; and a variety of analog instruments such as bowls, rainsticks, slidewhistle, whistle-flutes, oceanharp, etc., through digital signal processors. I began my study of the guitar in Chile and Uruguay, and continued upon my return to the U.S. in the early 1960s, having the extraordinarily good fortune to then study under Sophocles Papas (classical) and Frank Mullen (jazz). During the early '70's, I had the privilege of working with B-3/pianist/vocalist/composer extraordinaire Larry Buck, who was unstinting in his support of my work and provided insights into the process of developing music that have stood me well ever since. Since 1999, I have been participating in improvisational workshops led by David Darling (http://www.daviddarling.com) under the auspices of the Music for People organization (http://www.musicforpeople.org). I am also active in the Sonic Circuits organization in Washington DC (http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org/) and Baltimore's Volunteers Collective improvisational workshop (http://diymummy.blogspot.com/2010/07/volunteers-collective-new-workshop.html). I frequently perform with virtuoso reeds player Mike Sebastian (http://www.alkem.org/mikesebastian/) as the "Lost Civilizations experimental music project" duo. Together with Janel Leppin (cello) and Anthony Pirog (guitar), Mike and I appear as the "Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble", which has performed on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. I have also been working recently with the remarkable vocalist/violinist Emily Chimiak, with whom I've performed together with Sara Boyce and Tara Asley Compton at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10358444) as well as with the incredible vocalist/improviser Susan Rosati, with whom I hope to complete the work on a forthcoming album begun at http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10593280. Last, but certainly not least, I perform with bassist Doug Kallmeyer. A recent development is the release of "september impressions" on the ICTUS Records label (http://www.ictusrecords.com). "september impressions" is a work by the centazzo leppin sebastian zook project. The renowned Italian-American percussionist Andrea Centazzo (http://www.andreacentazzo.com) stayed at my home while he was in town for his appearances in the 2010 Sonic Circuits Festival (http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org/festival/2010/), which included a solo performance at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage (http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M4402) and an appearance with the Lost Civilizations experimental music project (http://www.soundclick.com/lostcivilizatons) at The Mansion at Strathmore. On September 23, the day following Dr. Centazzo's Kennedy Center appearance, two of my colleagues in the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble (http://www.myspace.com/xxichamberensemblepartone), Janel Leppin (cello) and Mike Sebastian (reeds), came over to my home to jam. That date was an anniversary of Coltrane’s birth -- thus, “impressions” in this work’s title to honor the master’s legacy. Coincidentally, it was also the anniversary of the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble's Millennium Stage appearance in the 2009 Sonic Circuits Festival (http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org/festival/2009/). I set up my recording rig to capture what I could. It was, in Dr. Centazzo’s words, “battlefield conditions”: his expansive percussion rig in the living room, my basscello rig in my music room, with Janel Leppin and Mike Sebastian squeezed into the very short connecting hallway. Although Dr. Centazzo used some pre-recorded material during our session and did a magnificent job in augmenting the session in postproduction, the music that Janel Leppin, Mike Sebastian and I contributed was unscored, unrehearsed and improvised extemporaneously on the spot -- and it was the first time we had all played together. My friend and mentor (and 2010 Grammy winner!) David Darling (http://www.daviddarling.com) was kind enough to offer the following review: "I would easily say that this cellist and this group is inspirational and the cellist has the best lines and sound that I have ever heard including myself... Great and Unique music." Amazon's release date for the CD is May 17, 2011 (http://www.amazon.com/September-Impressions-Centazzo-Leppin-Sebastian/dp/B004QVMTLW ); short mp3 samples of the tracks are posted @ http://www.amazon.com/September-Impressions/dp/B004VCO2Q6/ref=tmm_msc_title_0.