Alison Rayner Quintet (ARQ)

Line-up: ALISON RAYNER – bassDIANE McLOUGHLIN – saxophoneDEIRDRE CARTWRIGHT – guitarSTEVE LODDER – pianoBUSTER BIRCH – drums

Much-lauded, award-winning, and eclectic quintet ARQ, led by bassist and composer Alison Rayner, has spent twelve years crafting a unique sound that draws on jazz, folk, pop and Latin influences. They are celebrated for their four album releases and touring across jazz clubs, concert halls and international festivals. They have been recent winners in both the Parliamentary Jazz Awards and the British Jazz Awards, and new album Sema4 has just been nominated at the Presto Music Awards.

2025 release Sema4 showcases the quintet’s “stylistic virtuosity and masterful interplay” and has received extensive airplay and positive reviews. Previous releases: August (2014) , A Magic Life (2016) and Short Stories (2019) all garnered press acclaim and international radio play, with Rayner winning a coveted Ivor Novello Composer Award for ‘There is a Crack in Everything’ from Short Stories.This performance will feature music from all four ARQ albums. Expect richly nuanced compositions, rhythmic interplay and folk-infused melodies – music that is inventive, colourful and unfailingly melodic, possessed of a strong narrative and cinematic quality. The quintet’s chemistry is rooted in enduring relationships and Rayner credits their musical cohesion to the strong bonds they have developed over years of collaboration. “Each musician in this band has their own voice, but together we have built something even greater than the sum of its parts”.

Keep up-to-date with all the gigs and events happening at Ronnie's.