Founded in 2005 by guitarists Federico Dannemann and Roberto Dañobeitia, the Quintessence Ensemble is one of the most ambitious projects on the Chilean jazz scene. Its formation brought together prominent
Chilean jazz musicians in an orchestral collaboration unprecedented in Chile, exploring diverse styles and influences ranging from Gil Evans and Bob Brookmeyer to Latin American folk music and collective improvisation.

Voted “Best Jazz Band” of 2006 by the newspaper El Mercurio, they also earned an honorable fourth place in the “International Performers Competition” at the Granada Festival in Spain. In 2007, they released their debut album, Quintessence 2005–2007, a compilation of their work from those years. At the end of the same year, they collaborated with prominent Chilean singersongwriter Francesca Ancarola on the premiere of original arrangements of songs by Chilean composers such as Violeta Parra, Luis Advis, and Mario Lecaros.

This collaboration culminated in their second album, Anónimo, released in late 2009 on the Oveja Negra label. The album also led to their participation in the audiovisual series Tempo, produced by Dereojo Comunicaciones. Between 2010 and 2014, the Ensemble toured widely across Chile, performing at major festivals and venues including the La Serena Jazz Festival, Las Condes Jazz Festival, JazzUp in Concepción, the GAM Cultural Center, and the Vitacura Jazz Festival.

In 2015, Quintessence released their third album, Décimo, celebrating ten years of existence with an anniversary concert held at the Sala Master of the University of Chile. In 2016, they participated in festivals such as the 15th Providencia Jazz Festival, paying tribute to Chilean saxophonist Alfredo Espinoza, and the 2nd Chile Jazz Festival in the cities of Concepción and Santiago, crowning that year’s work by being awarded the Pulsar Award for Best Jazz Album. In October 2019, they collaborated with the band Congreso, presenting the show Jazz en Todas las Esquinas in the city of Valparaíso. Finally, in September 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, they released their fourth recording, titled Inédito.