The Spin presents: ARQ ft. keyboard wizard, Steve Lodder @ Tap Social, Botley, Oxford - Wednesday 25th June, Doors 7.30pm
Doors: 7.30pm
Performance from 8.30pm
The award-winning and eclectic quintet ARQ – led by bassist and composer Alison Rayner – is a widely celebrated ensemble with over twelve years of UK and European touring experience across a complete range of jazz clubs, concert halls and international festivals. They regularly sell out London clubs such as Ronnie Scott’s and the Pizza Express Jazz Club, as well as regional venues across the UK.
Just to single out one of the band members: Steve Lodder is a phenomenal keyboardist whose credits run from long-term collaborations with Andy Sheppard to working with the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Carla Bley and Naná Vasconcelos!
Their new 2025 release Sema4 showcases the quintet’s stylistic virtuosity and masterful interplay and has received extensive airplay, press coverage, reviews and live radio sessions such as Radio 3 ‘In Tune’.
Their previous critically acclaimed releases: August (2014), A Magic Life (2016) and Short Stories (2019) all garnered 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.
ARQ has spent twelve years crafting a unique sound that draws on jazz, folk, pop and Latin influences. 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”.
With richly nuanced compositions, rhythmic interplay and folk-infused melodies, their music carries a strong sense of narrative and cinematic quality and the group are noted for vibrant, communicative performances.
This is the band:
Alison Rayner: bass | Buster Birch: drums | Deirdre Cartwright: guitar | Diane McLoughlin: saxophone | Steve Lodder: piano
And this is what some of the press have said about them:
‘Bright, open jazz music that rejoices in human experience without sentimentalising it’ ★★★★ BBC Music Magazine
‘Openly and joyously communicative’ John Fordham, UK Jazz News
‘Engaging and melodic…inspired improvisation running through the songs’ ★★★★ All About Jazz
‘I’ve seldom heard a group sound so tightly inside each other’s mind pockets’ Jazz Views
Live reviews:
‘One of the best contemporary jazz groups around – these musicians are making some of the best music of their careers’ thejazzmann.com
‘The music remains as fresh, vital and relevant as ever’ Andy Robson, Jazzwise
…and here are some of their awards:
★ Ivor Novello Composer Awards 2019 – Alison Rayner
★ All Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2018 ARQ – Ensemble of the Year
★ British Jazz Awards 2018 ARQ – Best Small Group (Public Vote)
Now check out their showreel:
And, finally, if you haven’t already done so…..BOOK NOW!!!
A note about the venue:
- The bar at Tap Social is card payment only.
- We seat people as much as possible on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. This means that those who buy tickets first are allocated the better seats (as opposed to that allocation being for those that show up first on the night)…so, BOOK NOW (and also save money on ticket prices with our early bird deal)!!
- We are ready to support people who have additional accessibility needs, please let us know in advance via the contact form in order for our team of volunteers to design the assigned seating plan to accommodate you.
Location:
Tap Social
Curtis Industrial Estate
27, N Hinksey Ln,
Oxford
OX2 0LX
https://www.tapsocialmovement.com
Returns Policy:
If you have purchased tickets for the show but can no longer attend, contact us via the form on the website or email info@spinjazz.com, we will happily refund you if the show is sold out and we are able to re-sell the ticket
Over the last 20+ years, The Spin has presented live music of the highest calibre within the broad 'contemporary jazz' genre, creating scintillating nights out for anybody with a taste for interesting, exciting, alluring and luscious music.
At The Spin, we believe that our events should be accessible to all, as well as affordable. This, in part, is only made possible with the help of our team of generous volunteers, who volunteer not only their time but also their expertise towards making our gigs the success that they are.
Every musician who plays at The Spin gets properly paid - and it is through your ticket purchases alone that we can do that. Our events are run on a tight budget to keep ticket prices down; we realise that not everyone can afford or may be willing to pay for higher ticket prices. However, for those of you who are happy to pay a little more and contribute further to the efforts of The Spin, we are giving you the opportunity to ’support the club' by making a voluntary contribution on top of your ticket price. These donations will be greatly appreciated and will help us to continue putting on our fantastic live jazz events.