Ken Dieckmann



Bass guitar, vocals
Quintessence can trace its roots to Ken, who founded the band in 1976 when he was a senior at Bishop DuBourg High School in South St. Louis. In addition to providing bass guitar and vocals, Ken is QT's manager, booking agent, sound man and the force that holds it all together.

Ken holds a music education degree from the University of Missouri at St. Louis and currently teaches music and physical education at Our Lady of the Presentation in north St. Louis County. His musical experience began in 4th grade when he learned trumpet, followed by guitar a year later. He added trombone and baritone to his repertoire during high school. Ken considers his high school band director, George Wamser, a strong influence on his musical career because he showed him how much fun music can be.

Steve Farmer



Guitar, vocals
Steve helped form Quintessence in 1976 as a junior at Bishop DuBourg High School. The band offered a professional outlet for his musical pursuits, which began at age 13 and continued with experience in the DuBourg jazz band and St. George choir. He took guitar lessons at Huelsing Music - where he later taught for eight years - and studied music at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and classical guitar at Webster University. Today, he plays lead guitar, provides vocals and harmony, runs lights and serves as an entertaining front man for the band.

A database administrator for AT&T by day and a guitarist at heart, Steve also plays piano, bass, drums and harmonica. Steve's first guitar instructor, Tom Watson, encouraged him to develop his vocal abilities along with his guitar skills. "The greatest advice" he's ever gotten, Steve passes it along to young people who are starting to learn an instrument.

Kurt Schmid



Trumpet
Another long-time member of Quintessence, Kurt joined the band in 1984 after years with area big bands and a variety of school groups. His local stints included Dixieland and pop with Spring Avenue Jazz and big band style with Stan Fonaszewski and on the S.S. Admiral, in its stationary days.

Kurt holds a bachelor's degree in music management from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Trumpet has been his instrument of choice since 4th grade, thanks in part to his dad's affection for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Not surprisingly, his musical influences include classic jazz artists such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson … along with Motley Crue. Kurt supports his music habit as a systems and support manager for the St. Louis Public Library.

Ken Schwein



Alto and tenor saxophone
Ken has anchored the Quintessence horn section since 1984, after playing for two years in the Steve Marino Review. His experience also includes a number of school bands including the University of Missouri at St. Louis, where he earned his music degree. His musical training dates back to 5th grade on the clarinet, followed by alto, tenor and baritone sax.

Ken's soulful saxophone sounds are inspired by Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Stan Getz and Charlie Parker. He also has a great appreciation for pop-rock groups that made horns a distinctive signature in their music such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago, Tower of Power, and Blood, Sweat and Tears. When he is not playing saxophone, Ken is a compliance officer for a major securities firm.

Rappin' Robert Ray III



Trombone, vocals
An accomplished trombonist, Robert is also an audience favorite on vocals with his booming baritone. His renditions of "Wonderful World" and "Shout" unfailingly fill the dance floor and bring the crowd to their feet. He joined Quintessence in 1986 after playing with the University of Missouri at St. Louis Jazz Band and aboard the S.S. Admiral.

Robert studied music education at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and won three outstanding jazz musicianship awards. His musical influences are wide-ranging, encompassing artists from the 1950s through the 1990s. By day, Robert runs the instrument department and warehouse for a musical instrument distributor. In typical humble fashion, Robert's reward as a musician is watching people enjoy the band's performance.

Pam Pennington



Vocals
Pam is the band's longest-running female singer, having joined Quintessence in 1995. Her love of singing was apparent to her family and friends at an early age, and she has sung in choirs, weddings and talent shows throughout her life. Winning one of those talent shows led to an appearance on the Barbara Fairchild Show in Branson, Mo., which resulted in additional invitations to perform in variety shows.

Pam considers her singing a gift that she enjoys sharing with others to inspire or entertain them. Her earliest influence was Barbra Streisand, whose voice is "like no other." She also admires Reba McEntire's unique style and voice quality. Pam is especially moved by Reba's song "Is There Life Out There," a song about following one's dreams despite all life's responsibilities. Pam is a patient service representative in the Washington University pediatrics department.

Ben Majchrazak



Drums
Ben joined Quintessence on keyboards in 2005, but switched to his first love, drums, in 2006. Ben sets the beat for Quintessence's wide range of music choices from big band to disco, romantic ballads to popular classics.

Ben is currently a student at Webster University pursuing a degree in music.

Mike Holmes



Keyboards
One of the band's newest members, Mike joined Quintessence in 2006 after many years with an eclectic mix of local bar, dance, wedding, jazz and big bands including SavisDavis, Grand Fuzz and Johnny Polzin Orchestras. He hit the keyboards at age 5 and followed with classical piano lessons at the Clayton Academy of Music and music composition and theory at Bradley University.

Mike's musical tastes range from popular dance music to "country-rockin' blues" - characterized by improvisation and soulful musicianship. Mike, a compliance legal assistant for a national brokerage, enjoys music as a creative outlet and an opportunity to socialize with other musicians and those who enjoy music. Local musician Chuck Nowatny provided an important musical influence for Mike, who plays by his motto: "It's not the black notes written on the page that matter, it's what you feel you can add in the white spaces between them."