A correspondent writes:
ALISON BENTLEY, who has died, aged 65, of corticobasal degeneration, was a soulful singer, talented composer, and inspiring teacher.
Born in Bolton on 16 December 1957, Alison attended a comprehensive school in Glasgow, and studied English literature at York, where she first performed her own music, and was active in the Christian Union. Alison had a beautiful voice, a talent for words, and was a skilled guitarist. She had a deep faith in God, but was never judgemental or dogmatic. She had a gift for friendship and always had a warm family of friends around her.
She discovered jazz while she was studying at Oxford; but she had to give up music and academia when she became seriously ill with what she eventually self-diagnosed as an underactive thyroid.
By the mid-1980s, now recovered, Alison was working part-time as a parish worker at St Matthew’s, Oxford, which merged with St Aldate’s. She sometimes led the Sunday-morning children’s service, and would make items, puppets, to help to illustrate Bible stories. She would also sing and play the guitar.
Her main work was pastoral care, assisting the Revd David Hawkins (later Area Bishop of Barking) in supporting parishioners with mental-health problems, drug addictions, and more, by listening to their problems and offering practical help. She brought enthusiasm and compassion to her work; she was a kind person. Her support extended to a recording engineer in Oxford, Michael Gerzon, whom she found a home for after he became ill, had a major operation, and lost his bedsit. She also gave a talk on female imagery in the Bible, which received some quite nasty criticism.
While in Oxford, Alison continued to busk and play pub gigs. She began singing with a student swing band that performed at college parties, and in which she met her partner, Kevin Armstrong, who played guitar. This became a function band, which Alison co-led on vocals and keyboards, and which helped to pay the bills throughout her career. The band also performed at the opening of a new church hall for St Matthew’s and St Aldate’s.
At the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Alison received her jazz knowledge. Her first album, Alison Bentley Quartet, drew inspiration from Norma Winstone and John Taylor, as well as the Americans Steve Coleman and John Scofield. The Songs of Bernstein and Berlin followed.
For an Arts Council-funded tour, Alison wrote new pieces for a seven-piece band. She also took a quintet on a British Council-funded tour of Syria and Lebanon. In 2009, she performed at the Greenbelt festival with the gospel-meets-jazz band Jazzelation.
When a friend had to drop out of reviewing a gig for London Jazz News, Alison agreed to step in. To her surprise, she found that she enjoyed the experience. For ten years, her reviews of albums and gigs were widely read; Alison’s deep appreciation of jazz shone through all her writing. It was a particular treat for her to interview some of her heroes, including Dianne Reeves and Kevin Mahogany.
Alison was a lifelong animal-lover, vegetarian, a voracious reader, lover of ideas and wit, and a committed Christian and Labour supporter, attending anti-Brexit marches even when in poor health. She was an ardent lover of art and Venice, which she managed to visit with Kevin in the last week of her life.
She is survived by Kevin, her sister and brother-in-law and their two children, and five beloved cats.
Alison Janet Bentley died on 22 September 2023, aged 65.
