Date/Time
Monday 20 January 2025
7:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Categories Community Event
Book here – £15 or £10 or £7, you choose
Christine Tobin – vocals
Liam Noble – piano
Paul Clarvis – drums/percussion
This trio performed here a year ago and were PHENOMENAL! Then, the singer was Cathy Jordan. For this year’s tour, Christine Tobin is taking Cathy Jordan’s place. Both singers have roots in Irish folk, but have become highly respected jazz singers as well. Combined with Liam Noble on piano, and Paul Clarvis on drums/percussion we have a unique and exhilarating trio…
Noble contributes characteristically exploratory piano, ranging from spare but oblique obligato to rhapsodic intros as the mood takes him, with some electronic additions on the studio tracks. Clarvis, as ever, generates impetus with minimal effort, even at impossibly slow tempos. Together they furnish warm support for the vocals, challengingly exposed in this setting. Jordan delivers the songs straight, in a light but beautifully accurate voice that handles jazz rhythm as if she has always leant that way. Overall, it sounds as if these three have a thoroughly good time playing together: and so does the listener.
Christine Tobin: The Dublin born and raised, multi-award winning vocalist and composer, has been an integral part of both the New York City and London scenes for many years. She returned to Ireland in 2020 and is now based in Northwest Co. Roscommon. Within her kaleidoscopic musical palette that draws on the folk and European art song traditions, she can be junkyard blues philosopher, snappy beat seductress, a conduit for exquisite zen-like harmonies and reflective Americana.
Her authentic sound was described by The Guardian as “Tobin’s 24 carat voice” while praising her both for the poetry of her compositions and the warmth of her golden voice. Her style, although rooted in jazz, is eclectic and draws on a broad range of influences. MOJO Music Magazine said of her “Christine Tobin really transcends glib genre-fication. Her expressive range acknowledges finely acquired folk, jazz and 20th-century classical influences, which already sets her apart. And everything is shot through with an unmistakable refinement, free-spirited earthiness and giddy romanticism, this singer-songwriter is in a field of one.”
More at christinetobin.org
Press quotes about Christine Tobin:
“A masterclass in songcraft. One of the most gifted and original singer/songwriters in today’s jazz world.” BBC Music Magazine
“Tobin has followed a studiously personal path as a singer and songwriter that has won her the kind of accolades bestowed on only a few. This rare and thoroughly personal artist is, a one-off.” The Irish Times
“What sets her apart is her intensity and the sheer beauty of her voice, a deep soulful thing that she seems to summon from somewhere deep inside…”. Time Out Magazine
“Tobin’s vocals, veering from acrobatic to sultry, are tailored perfectly for the material, her evocations of time and place precise. Classy and lovely.” The Observer
Liam Noble and Paul Clarvis first met playing and touring in moondog’s band…collaborating in many joint projects since then – including with mose allison
liam noble
after studying music at the university of oxford and the postgraduate course at guildhall school of music and dram, noble became the regular pianist with stan sulzmann (in both duo and quartet settings) on john taylor’s recommendation. he went on to work in the bands of anita wardell, harry beckett, tim whitehead and john stevens as well as recording and touring with cult minimalist composer moondog.
three years after leaving the guildhall, noble recorded the solo piano album of compositions and interpretations of tunes by ornette coleman, annette peacock and richard rodgers. in 1997, he joined the bobby wellins quartet, he is also a member of the christine tobin band and the randy brecker english sextet and a duo project with paul clarvis playing music from west side story combines well-known material with a “stream of consciousness” improvisatory angle.
in april 2002, a commission from birmingham jazz resulted in a song cycle based on japanese death poetry featuring the contrasting voices of kelsey michael (vocalist with the high llammas) and christine tobin, with dave wickens and chris biscoe. noble plays keyboards and samples throughout, marking a new foray into electronica inspired by artists such as aphex twin and arto lindsay. he is also a regular member of the julian siegel group and appears on siegel’s much acclaimed recent album close up (mactwo).
in this day and age of jazz retreads, it’s refreshing to encounter a genuinely original voice
paul clarvis
the original enfield sound started playing drums at school…has collaborated with some of the world’s best composers and performers from birtwistle and john adams to stevie wonder and mick jagger…combined with a professorship of drum set, latin american & ethic percussion at the royal academy of music…he was the late leonard bernstein’s preferred percussionist in london and featured as a soloist on the last night of the proms in a concerto for saxophone and drum kit by sir harrison birtwistle…paul also helped rick smith with the drum arrangement for the london olympic 2012 opening & now the regular percussion player in the bbc strictly come dancing show.
as one of the most requested session musicians, his playing can be heard on hundreds of films…moreover, the list of collaborators he has worked with is a veritable ‘who’s who’ in the music world — from mick jagger, nina simone, stevie wonder, steve swallow, harrison birtwistle, sir john dankworth to paul mccartney, john taylor and moondog…
as a jazz musician his list of credits is just as long…with chris batchelor on pigfoot & zoetic, henry lowther in still waters, mark lewandowski, Josephine davies & satori, alan barnes, Gordon beck, tim garland, jon Lloyd, sam rivers, andy sheppard, stan Sulzmann, he also formed orquestra mahatma
a very talented percussionist, clarvis displays remarkable technical gifts, which he allies to enthusiasm and flair. his declared favourite musicians include several artists from the long tradition of jazz drummers although he himself is thoroughly contemporary in feel and style. this awareness of the past helps bring depth to clarvis’ jazz playing.
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