Biography
Quintessence Ensemble is a Chilean contemporary jazz ensemble. Born in Santiago de Chile in 2005 after the merge of the quintets Mr. Bean and Quinteto Colectivo, both led by Federico Dannemann and Roberto Dañobeitia, respectively. Its name comes from the concept developed by Quincy Jones and his 1961 album The Quintessence.
The small orchestra moved away from the classic swing big bands and aimed to a contemporary style closer to Gil Evans, George Russell, Lennie Tristano and Gunther Schuller.
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Some of the most outstanding jazz players of the 2000's generation, such as Agustín Moya, Andrés Pérez Muñoz, and Cristián Gallardo, on saxophones, the trumpeter Sebastian Jordan, led the bronzes. The rhythm section was shared by the two guitarists who were also the directors and composers, while the background was defined by the double bassist Rodrigo Galarce, Lautaro Quevedo on piano and the drummer Félix Lecaros. The Ensemble integrated different musicians each year, such as Carlos Cortéson drums, Diego Manuschevich on bass clarinet, as well as Francisco Núñez on conducting.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.