Alison Rayner Quintet 'A Magic Life'

Inspired by real-world ideas, people and situations but infused with the kind of heady imagination that transforms their resonances into a series of vivacious musical adventures’ ***** BBC Music Magazine

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‘A gorgeous album synthesising mood, melody and the interplay between musicians totally at home with each other.’ **** Jazzwise

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‘Spirited, eloquent and graceful’ *** The Guardian ‘Purposeful, full-toned and melodic... a beautifully integrated band’ **** The Observer

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‘If the first rule of life is to do what makes you happy, this album tumbles and flows with such a spirit, performed by a quintet whose musicality and heart enables it; a celebration of life itself ‘ LondonJazzNews

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‘Highly intelligible music, characterized by individuality, spirit and a sense of freedom.’ Val Wilmer, author ‘As Serious As Your Life: the Story of the New Jazz’ 

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Alison Rayner: ‘I was inspired to call the album A Magic Life because of two recent incidents. The loss of a friend last year, who wrote in her own epitaph about how magic her life had been; then a chance encounter with a young boy, who asked me "Is music stronger than magic?" I replied that to me, music is a merging of magic and logic. These events set me on a course of thinking about connections between memory, mortality, magic – and music.’ 

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Alison Rayner - bass 

Buster Birch - drums & percussion

Deirdre Cartwright guitar

Diane McLoughlin  - saxophones

Steve Lodder -piano