Deirdre Cartwright & Alison Rayner Celebrate 50 Years of Music

Deirdre Cartwright & Alison Rayner Celebrate 50 Years of Music

@ Ronnie Scott’s  25 October ’26 – 13:00 Doors – Noon

INFO + BOOKINGS → https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/find-a-show/deirdre-cartwright-alison-rayner  

“Alison Rayner is a supple and sonorous double bassist with a Charlie Haden-like lyricism, a composer of vivaciously open and songlike themes.” — John Fordham, UK Jazz News

“Deirdre Cartwright is a deeply expressive guitarist who produces finely wrought, bluesy, soulful melodic lines.” — Kevin le Gendre 

Join multi-award-winning musicians Deirdre Cartwright and Alison Rayner as they celebrate 50 years of musical partnership and collaboration. From meeting in a shed in Peckham in the summer of 1976 to becoming two of the UK's most respected jazz musicians, Cartwright and Rayner have shared an extraordinary musical journey. Together they have played in groundbreaking groups including Jam Today, The Guest Stars, The Electric Landladies, and, more recently, the Deirdre Cartwright Group and Alison Rayner Quintet (ARQ).

Ticket prices £35

LINE-UP:

DEIRDRE CARTWRIGHT – guitars & vocals
ALISON RAYNER – basses & vocals
Plus special guests:
ANNIE WHITEHEAD – trombone
DIANE MCLOUGHLIN – saxophones
RUTHIE SMITH – saxophones & vocals
STEVE LODDER – piano
BUSTER BIRCH – drums
JOSEFINA CUPIDO – drums, percussion & vocals
LINDA DA MANGO – congas, percussion & vocals

Their long-running collaboration has helped shape the British jazz scene. They co-founded Blow the Fuse in 1989, while Cartwright became widely known as guitarist and presenter on the BBC's Rockschool. In 2025, ARQ's fourth album, Sema4, was named Jazz Recording of the Year at the Presto Music Awards.

This special lunchtime concert combines music and conversation, with Cartwright and Rayner sharing stories from five decades on stage before being joined by friends and longtime collaborators - including members of The Guest Stars, ARQ and special guest Annie Whitehead - for a programme of African and Latin-inspired originals, a cappella vocals, small-group jazz and a celebratory finale.