What happens when you take four musicians who are excellent, even extraordinary on their own and put them together in a room and just tell them to play? Tonight, you’ll get to find out with the 21st Century Ensemble. Janel Leppin (cello) and Anthony Pirog (guitar) have crafted beautiful pieces on their own but when combined with the Lost Civilizations duo of Mike Sebastian (reeds) and T.A. Zook (basscello, miscellaneous instruments) they create a far more complex array of textures and sounds. And it’s all improvised. The way the quartet played off each other at Pyramid Atlantic on Saturday night was sometimes loud and challenging and sometimes melodic and smooth, but never boring. We caught up with them after the Pyramid Atlantic show (celebrating the District of Noise, Volume 2 release). Catch them for yourself tonight on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage at 6 p.m. for free.

How many different saxophones do you play?

Mike: Just two saxophones and a bass clarinet. Three wind instruments.

It sounds like you prefer the tenor?

Mike: Yeah, I prefer the tenor over the rest of them. That’s my main axe.

I’d heard that you two (Janel & Anthony) have recently left D.C.. Where are you living now?

Janel: The Lower East Side.

What was the impetus for moving up there?

Anthony: We both grew up here. I went to school there so I had a great time, knew what it had to offer. Janel has never left this area.

Janel: Well, to live. So, I was excited about the energy there. There’s so much creative energy.

Anthony: We’re still here quite a bit, though.

I was wondering if you still had a strong tie to other musicians here.

Janel: We love Washington, D.C.

Anthony: That was the problem, yeah. I was here for two or three weeks. There for a week. Now I’m here for a week and a half. So, we’re still bouncing back and forth.

Mike: In my opinion, I mean, I can’t speak for them, but New York City’s kind of a stepping stone up, that’s where it’s all at. There’s great creative musicians around here too, don’t get me wrong, but New York is where things seem to go. A lot of the great jazz musicians from all over, from United States to Europe, all move to New York City to try to make it. That’s where it’s at. And I really hope that they do well there. So that they can invite me down there.

Ted: I’ll be so overbearing to put it in one word: destiny. It’s their destiny. That’s where they’re going. Things are going to happen.