Leah Coloff - is one of the more unique and dynamic performers of new and alternative forms of
music; melding her own styles of vocalization and virtuosic cello playing into a powerful combination of
presentation for her own and other composers’ material. Her vocal range is immense, with the ability
to sing in a subtle to powerful soprano range and also in guttural strength and clarity of lower tones.
Her phrasing can run the gambit between speak-song or poetic recitation to soaring lyricism and
melodic flow. Her songwriting slices moments out of life in a cadence and delivery that makes their
impact recognizable and immediate for the listener or audience. Her cello playing, often in support of
her singing, has a quality unique in the contemporary music community. The range of sounds she
employs on the cello, both acoustically and with electronic effects, is enormous and arms her with an
arsenal of expression which, coupled with her vocalizations, creates a vibrant sound-scape, drawing the
listener into other worlds.
Born in Pullyup, Washington into a musical family, she started playing the cello at the age of six, with
her father, Lawrence Coloff, as her first instructor until the age of thirteen. She then continued her
classical studies with a variety of teachers and programs, among them, Raymond Davis, principal
cellist of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Leah performed with the Tacoma Youth Symphony as
principal cellist and soloist and with the Seattle Youth Symphony as part of the Marrowstone Summer
Music Festival. She then continued her studies attending Pacific Lutheran University, studying with
David Hoffman, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Irene Sharp, where she
received a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance. She then went on to study at the New England
Conservatory of Music with Bernard Greenhouse.
This is where Leah veered from the path of classical music studies. Living in Boston at the time, she
took an interest in theater and participated in a number of theater productions and independent
training programs. Companies she performed with include the New Ehrlich Theater, the Triangle
Theater Company and the Creative Image Theater Company. Training programs included classes with
representatives of the Lyric Stage and the Circle Repertory Theaters there in Boston.
At this point she moved to New York City where she came to combine her music and theater
experience into the formation of alternative music bands including her self named group Leah Coloff
and Band. In 2000 she began her ongoing collaboration with Sarth Calhoun in the formation of the
alternative band Number Nineteen. They have since gone on to form their current collaboration in the
band Lucibel Crater. Other projects she has participated in are Supple, Scorchio String Quartet and the
Ted Hearne Band. Her discography includes the solo release Dark Sweetheart (1999-SearchingEye
Records), Number Nineteen Suspension (2001-SearchingEye Records), Number Nineteen Holy, Then,
Now (SearchingEye Records), and Lucibel Crater The Family Album (2009-SearchingEye Records).
Press on Lucibel Crater includes: “Matisyahu, School of Seven Bells, My Brightest Diamond, Sufjan
Stevens: these are only†some among the many names that enliven the scene beyond the East River,
which today†grows richer with a new, “reckless” band. They’re called Lucibel Crater and talking about
them, music wise, you can venture the adjective “unpredictable”: Cocorosie, Bjˆrk and White Stripes,
but also nu-jazz atmospheres, ambient expansions and psychedelic moments. Listening to Lucibel
one bounces like the little ball in an acid colored pinball†machine.” Urban Magazine (Italy)
“…Lucibel Crater, on the other hand, recalls those old pictures you look at in front of the fire on a
winter evening. The Brooklyn trio- cello, drums, and voice- with its latest work, “The Family Album”
(searching eye records), collects cinematic stories in black and white. Perpetually oscillating between
analogue and digital, between Bjork and The White Stripes, Lucibel Crater surprise us with a schizoid,
unpredictable sound made of both live improvisations and thoughtful studio recordings.” Vogue Italia
Other recordings Leah has performed on include: Linda Thompson Versatile Heart (Rounder Records),
Ziggy Marley Dragonfly (Private Music/RCA), Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sinatra (Attack Records), Britta
Phillips and Dean Wharem L’Aventura (Jetset), Sybarite Nonument (4AD), Michael Cerevis Dog Eared
(low heat records), Mark Mulcahy Smilesunset (Mezzotint), Erin O’Hara Indestructible Joy (Mother
Tucker Records), Violet The Last Cathedral (Wine & Vinyl Music), Denise Barberita Chaos and
Congeniality (My Shy Tune), Michael Peverly Hard to Imagine and Bon Kannen Receiver (Shiny Plastic
Records). Film soundtracks she has performed on include: Kimjongilia with a score by Michael Gordon,
Michael Moore’s Sicko with original music by Erin O’Hara and Nothing Really Happens with original
music by David Belmont.
In 2008 she performed vocals and cello as part of a four person ensemble for the multi-media song
cycle Lightning at our feet from the poems of Emily Dickinson by composer Michael Gordon with
arrangements by Courtney Orlando, Bora Yoon, Jennifer Charles, Ted Hearne and herself; in
collaboration with Ridge Theater, presented as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave
Festival in the Harvey Theater. The New York Times wrote about Leah’s performance: “Leah Coloff,
accompanying herself on the cello — first with a pizzicato figure, then with a quick, repeating arpeggio
— sings “The Soul Selects Her Own Society” with a combination of artful angularity and a rock-inflected
assertiveness.”
Leah has also performed live with artists including Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Philip Glass, Ray
Davies, Rufus Wainwright, Ziggy Marley, Patti Smith, Trey Anastasio, David Byrne, Sufjan Stevens and
Regina Spektor.
music; melding her own styles of vocalization and virtuosic cello playing into a powerful combination of
presentation for her own and other composers’ material. Her vocal range is immense, with the ability
to sing in a subtle to powerful soprano range and also in guttural strength and clarity of lower tones.
Her phrasing can run the gambit between speak-song or poetic recitation to soaring lyricism and
melodic flow. Her songwriting slices moments out of life in a cadence and delivery that makes their
impact recognizable and immediate for the listener or audience. Her cello playing, often in support of
her singing, has a quality unique in the contemporary music community. The range of sounds she
employs on the cello, both acoustically and with electronic effects, is enormous and arms her with an
arsenal of expression which, coupled with her vocalizations, creates a vibrant sound-scape, drawing the
listener into other worlds.
Born in Pullyup, Washington into a musical family, she started playing the cello at the age of six, with
her father, Lawrence Coloff, as her first instructor until the age of thirteen. She then continued her
classical studies with a variety of teachers and programs, among them, Raymond Davis, principal
cellist of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Leah performed with the Tacoma Youth Symphony as
principal cellist and soloist and with the Seattle Youth Symphony as part of the Marrowstone Summer
Music Festival. She then continued her studies attending Pacific Lutheran University, studying with
David Hoffman, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Irene Sharp, where she
received a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance. She then went on to study at the New England
Conservatory of Music with Bernard Greenhouse.
This is where Leah veered from the path of classical music studies. Living in Boston at the time, she
took an interest in theater and participated in a number of theater productions and independent
training programs. Companies she performed with include the New Ehrlich Theater, the Triangle
Theater Company and the Creative Image Theater Company. Training programs included classes with
representatives of the Lyric Stage and the Circle Repertory Theaters there in Boston.
At this point she moved to New York City where she came to combine her music and theater
experience into the formation of alternative music bands including her self named group Leah Coloff
and Band. In 2000 she began her ongoing collaboration with Sarth Calhoun in the formation of the
alternative band Number Nineteen. They have since gone on to form their current collaboration in the
band Lucibel Crater. Other projects she has participated in are Supple, Scorchio String Quartet and the
Ted Hearne Band. Her discography includes the solo release Dark Sweetheart (1999-SearchingEye
Records), Number Nineteen Suspension (2001-SearchingEye Records), Number Nineteen Holy, Then,
Now (SearchingEye Records), and Lucibel Crater The Family Album (2009-SearchingEye Records).
Press on Lucibel Crater includes: “Matisyahu, School of Seven Bells, My Brightest Diamond, Sufjan
Stevens: these are only†some among the many names that enliven the scene beyond the East River,
which today†grows richer with a new, “reckless” band. They’re called Lucibel Crater and talking about
them, music wise, you can venture the adjective “unpredictable”: Cocorosie, Bjˆrk and White Stripes,
but also nu-jazz atmospheres, ambient expansions and psychedelic moments. Listening to Lucibel
one bounces like the little ball in an acid colored pinball†machine.” Urban Magazine (Italy)
“…Lucibel Crater, on the other hand, recalls those old pictures you look at in front of the fire on a
winter evening. The Brooklyn trio- cello, drums, and voice- with its latest work, “The Family Album”
(searching eye records), collects cinematic stories in black and white. Perpetually oscillating between
analogue and digital, between Bjork and The White Stripes, Lucibel Crater surprise us with a schizoid,
unpredictable sound made of both live improvisations and thoughtful studio recordings.” Vogue Italia
Other recordings Leah has performed on include: Linda Thompson Versatile Heart (Rounder Records),
Ziggy Marley Dragonfly (Private Music/RCA), Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sinatra (Attack Records), Britta
Phillips and Dean Wharem L’Aventura (Jetset), Sybarite Nonument (4AD), Michael Cerevis Dog Eared
(low heat records), Mark Mulcahy Smilesunset (Mezzotint), Erin O’Hara Indestructible Joy (Mother
Tucker Records), Violet The Last Cathedral (Wine & Vinyl Music), Denise Barberita Chaos and
Congeniality (My Shy Tune), Michael Peverly Hard to Imagine and Bon Kannen Receiver (Shiny Plastic
Records). Film soundtracks she has performed on include: Kimjongilia with a score by Michael Gordon,
Michael Moore’s Sicko with original music by Erin O’Hara and Nothing Really Happens with original
music by David Belmont.
In 2008 she performed vocals and cello as part of a four person ensemble for the multi-media song
cycle Lightning at our feet from the poems of Emily Dickinson by composer Michael Gordon with
arrangements by Courtney Orlando, Bora Yoon, Jennifer Charles, Ted Hearne and herself; in
collaboration with Ridge Theater, presented as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave
Festival in the Harvey Theater. The New York Times wrote about Leah’s performance: “Leah Coloff,
accompanying herself on the cello — first with a pizzicato figure, then with a quick, repeating arpeggio
— sings “The Soul Selects Her Own Society” with a combination of artful angularity and a rock-inflected
assertiveness.”
Leah has also performed live with artists including Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Philip Glass, Ray
Davies, Rufus Wainwright, Ziggy Marley, Patti Smith, Trey Anastasio, David Byrne, Sufjan Stevens and
Regina Spektor.
