The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London N16 8JH | Bookings 020 7254 4097 | Enquiries 020 7993 3643 | Email Info at Vortex

April 2008
gig reviews

Seb Pipe's Life Experience
Trio VD / Final Terror
The Frank Griffith Nonet
Matthew Shipp Trio
Paolo Angeli, Evan Parker
Barbez
Christine Tobin
The Zig Quartet

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April 2008 gig reviews by Chris Parker

Christine Tobin

Saturday 26 April

A packed club, a balmy night, Christine Tobin ­ plus her extended band ­ playing selections from her forthcoming Babel album, Secret Life of a Girl: life can be sweet sometimes.

The Dublin-born singer has always been a mesmerising performer with a uniquely affecting voice, but in her natural environment (the Vortex on nights such as these) she adds an unaffected warmth to her artistic appeal, trading banter with a lively but intent, respectful audience and drawing superb performances from her sextet members through the sheer class of her material and the obvious depth of her own commitment to it.

She not only sheds fresh light on other writers' songs (her arrangement of Leonard Cohen's 'Everybody Knows' tinges the original's sardonic doominess with plaintive sympathy; her hypnotic visit to the world of Elis Regina keeps the Brazilian legend's spirit alive over 25 years after her tragically premature death), but also infuses her own songs with fresh vitality every time she airs them.

Thus her arrangement of the Eva Salzman poem 'Muse of Blues' becomes more nuanced with every new performance, and the strength and individuality of her original compositions are subtly but tellingly emphasised by a series of cogent solos from pianist Liam Noble, cellist Kate Shortt and guitarist Phil Robson (the latter's multi-textured, pithy contribution to 'Bye Bye' particularly memorable).

It is the Tobin voice, though ­ powerful and flexible yet almost conversationally intimate where required ­ that makes her performances so special and keeps bringing her new listeners ­ like the man at the back of the club who just had to tell her he'd come to see her because he'd heard her on the radio that very afternoon … He'll no doubt be back.

 

 

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