UK Jazz News

Freight Train with Christine Tobin

The Cathedral Hotel, Lichfield. 15 January 2025

Christine Tobin. Photo credit John Watson/ http://jazzcamera.co.uk

The group Freight Train, originally formed with Irish folk singer Cathy Jordan, drummer Paul Clarvis and pianist Liam Noble is a successful project blending jazz and folk music. Because of conflicting commitments, Jordan was unable to play three West Midland dates on the group’s tour, so in Lichfield, Coventry and Birmingham the very fine Irish jazz singer Christine Tobin took her place.

It is always a pleasure to hear Christine’s singing, and she performed this very demanding role with her usual zest and captivating expression, opening with “Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer” (from the repertoire of Bessie Smith), linked by a brief drum solo with brushes to the group’s title track: “Freight Train”, by Elizabeth Cotten. So far we had heard songs from the traditional jazz and the skiffle repertoire, but with “The Oid Church Yard” – a song so ancient it is mentioned in Samuel Pepys 1660s Diary – we had entered English folk music territory, and Christine sang in beautifully. Then came a lovely venture into Celtic music with “Innisfree”. The singer took a break for Clarvis and Noble to romp through the old jazz standard “Whispering”, with the pianist’s solo also embracing the bebop classic based on its chords: Dizzy Gillespie’s “Grooving High”.

Paul Clarvis. Photo by John Watson/ jazzcamera.co.uk

Other highlights came from popular songwriters, including Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird”, and Paul Simon’s “I Do It For Your Love”, both given a folk-influenced sonority.

But the highlight of the night, to my ears, was a song by Cathy Jordan, “Curragh Wrens”, about the historic exploitation of teenage girls in Ireland. With Noble creating long tones on a small synth, Christine’s performance of this harrowing tale was incredibly moving.

Liam Noble. Photo credit: John Watson/jazzcamera.co.uk

This concert was presented by the Lichfield Jazz section of Lichfield Arts.

Freight Train with Christine Tobin appears on Thursday (January 16) at The Tin Music And Arts, The Coal Vaults, Coventry Canal Basin, St Nicholas Street, Coventry, and on Friday (January 17) for Birmingham Jazz at 1000 Trades, in Frederick Street, Jewellery Quarter.

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