Jan 19 – Freight Train (Tobin/Noble/Clarvis)

Christine Tobin vocals, Liam Noble piano, Paul Clarvis percussion

Part of a UK and Ireland tour building on the success of the the highly-acclaimed folk-meets-jazz album ‘Freight Train‘. Influences range from Irish airs to Duke Ellington ballads to Mose Allison blues/jazz fusion.

Christine Tobin grew up in Dublin, later moving to London to attend the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She was an integral part of the London contemporary scene for many years before moving to New York in 2015 where she made a considerable impact on the city’s creative music world. She returned to Ireland in 2020. ‘Returning Weather’, released in March 2023, was Christine’s twelfth album under her own name. In 2012 she won a BASCA British Composer Award for her settings of poems by WB Yeats, ‘Sailing To Byzantium’. The following year, her arrangements of Leonard Cohen songs won a Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Festival. In 2014 she was awarded ‘Jazz Vocalist of the Year’ at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Earlier in 2008, she won a BBC Jazz Award for ‘Best Vocalist’.

Paul Clarvis has collaborated with some of the world’s best composers and performers from Harrison Birtwistle and John Adams to Stevie Wonder and Mick Jagger. Paul helped with the drum arrangement for the London Olympic 2012 opening, and is now the regular percussion player in the BBC Strictly Come Dancing show. As a jazz musician his list of credits is just as long, including Chris Batchelor, Henry Lowther, Mark Lewandowski, Josephine Davies, Alan Barnes, Gordon Beck, Tim Garland, Jon Lloyd, Sam Rivers, Andy Sheppard, Stan Sulzmann.

After studying music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Liam Noble became the regular pianist with Stan Sulzmann. 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, Liam 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  later was a member of the Christine Tobin band and the Randy Brecker Sextet. He is also a regular member of the Julian Siegel group.

Liam and Paul first met playing and touring in Moondog’s band. They have collaborated in many joint projects since then, including with Mose Allison.