QUINTANA JAZZ ALL-STARS OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA

(Prince) ALBERT MALLET (Band leader, Saxophone)

From Lynchburg, VA, Mallet is the founding member of Quintana.  Today, he serves as the band’s leader, and is the point-of-contact person for arranging music for a wide variety of events.   While his career was in the banking business, he has been a freelance musician for the past 60 years; playing in clubs in the Washington, DC area and throughout Central Virginia (including the Jives, the Twisters, Youth for Truth, and at Court Street Baptist Church).   

ERNEST DEANE, Trumpet and Flugelhorn

From Lynchburg, VA, Deane has a long history of engagement with the local music scene.   A graduate of Virginia State University, with a degree in music, he is currently assisting sixth grade music students at Linkhorne Middle School in Lynchburg.   Deane has played trumpet in many bands throughout Virginia and North Carolina.   One of the most recognizable bands was the House Band, a popular R & B group that played throughout Virginia.

GARY MEISNER, Piano

Originally from Wisconsin, Meisner was for many years the chief arranger for the Hal Leonard Music Publishing Company, and a well respected pianist in the Milwaukee area. He moved to Lynchburg several years ago, and has since established himself as an essential member of our musical community.

ED MIKENAS, Bass

Mikenas was brought up in rural Northern New York State and graduated from SUNY Potsdam with a BS in music education. He also has a Master’s degree in Music Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, NYC. As a studio musician based in NYC, he toured with Skitch Henderson, Larry Elgart, Jay and the Americans, Scarlet Rivera, Esther Phillips, and the Alive Company. And he played venues that include Saturday Night Live, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Apollo, the Felt Forum, the Spectrum, and the Troubadour. Mikenas played in the orchestra pit for “Grease,” “Pippin,” “Godspell,” and “The Magic Show” on Broadway and was a musician and actor off Broadway with the La Mama Experimental Theatre. He taught bass at Radford University for 19 years and now, when not composing or playing his own work, serves as adjunct Bass Professor at the University of Lynchburg, coaches a jazz ensemble at the Virginia Episcopal School, and is Organist and Choir Master of Amherst Presbyterian Church.

GLENN BUCK, Sax and Flute

Originally from Upstate NY, Buck began his musical journey early in life, playing his first gig at age 11 on drums.  His father was a well-known saxophone and clarinet musician in the Utica-Rome area.   Buck graduated with a degree in music education from Nazareth College of Rochester (enrolled as one of the first male students), and later graduated from Vanderbilt University.   While teaching special education in Tennessee public schools, he played in many well-known country-rock bands.  And, while completing his doctoral degree at University of Florida, he played in Latin and jazz bands in the Gainesville area.   Arriving in Lynchburg in 1993, Buck was a professor at Lynchburg College (now a University) until his retirement in 2020.  He is now an active composer, arranger, studio player, and freelance performer.

WORTH PROFFITT, DRUMS

Worth Proffit is a versatile musician from the Amherst area. He is well-known for playing Blues with Dennis Johnson in “Jump Street” and previously as part of “Proffitt & Sandidge.” He has studied Blues with Lonnie Pitchford and Brother Jusef Salim. Proffitt has received awards for his blues projects, including the 1997 International Blues Challenge in Charlotte, NC, and the 2004 International Blues Challenge in Sedalia, VA. Additionally, he has played with the notable guitarist Tim Reynolds in Charlottesville.