Alison Rayner Quintet

Led by bassist and composer Alison Rayner, multi award-winning quintet ARQ are widely celebrated from ten years of extensive UK and European touring across a complete range of jazz clubs, concert halls and international festivals and critically acclaimed for their three album releases August (2014) , A Magic Life (2016) and Short Stories (2019). All have garnered extensive press acclaim and international radio play, with Rayner also winning a coveted Ivor Novello Composer Award for ‘There is a Crack in Everything’ from Short Stories.

This year, ARQ celebrates 10 years of contributing to the cultural jazz landscape with their fourth album of collaborative, newly composed and original music 'Semaphore'. The album was recorded live in summer 2024 with release early in 2025. Forthcoming dates include UK national touring and London’s Ronnie Scott’s, with the album launch at Soho Pizza Express in March 2025.

Richly nuanced compositions, rhythmic interplay and folk-infused melodies, ARQ play 'songs without words' carrying a strong sense of narrative and cinematic quality. The group are lauded for their vibrant, communicative performances and the newly-recorded material on Semaphore is as engaging, imaginative and groovy as ever.

Line Up: Alison Rayner – double bass, Buster Birch – drums / percussion, Deirdre Cartwright – guitar, Diane McLoughlin – saxophones & Steve Lodder – piano