Christine Tobin with Phil Robson
Frank and Mark’s
Iffley Church Hall
15 April 2026

Christine Tobin - Vocals
Phil Robson -  Guitar
Frank Harrison - Piano
Mark Hodgson - Double Bass

It’s been nearly eleven years since Irish born singer composer Christine Tobin performed in Oxford but this is her long-term musical partner, guitarist Phil Robson’s, third appearance at Iffley Church Hall in the last two and a half years. Together with pianist Frank Harrison and bassist Mark Hodgson the foursome make up a drum-less quartet, which has only happened three times before before at Frank and Mark’s.

In the time since the esteemed singer /  composer was last in Oxford (at The Spin 23 July 2015), she spent four years in New York before moving to Ireland in 2020 and is now based in Northwest County Roscommon.

In an interview with Nick Lea of Jazz Views, she’s said her time in New York led her to reconnect with her Irish roots and this in turn this led to her 2023 album ’ Returning Weather’ which she described as being “inspired by my homecoming, (and is) a nine-part song cycle charting that journey.”
Christine Tobin – Returning Home & Reconnecting - Jazz Views

The album was her eleventh but her first since ‘Pelt’ ‘in 2016. She’s recently formed a new band called The Unforeseen’, and April last year at the New Music Dublin Festival, premiered ‘Pseudologia Fantastica’ (Pathological Liar) which explores themes of disinformation, and the misappropriation of new technologies. The 45 minute piece has eight compositions, spoken word, improvised soundscapes, live electronic FX and hand percussion and is said to be a new direction for Tobin. Christine told me its due to be released in September of this year (other information from;
https://www.christinetobin.org/post/pseudologia-fantastica-premiered-at-the-complex-in-new-music-dublin-festival-ban-bam-award-night)

’ Returning Weather ’ marked a return to her writing her own lyrics with the exception of a setting of a poem by Eva Salzman, after devoting whole albums to setting the works of others. Her ‘lyricists’ have included Irish poet Paul Muldoon for ‘Pelt’ (2016), WB Yeats for ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ (2102), Leonard Cohen for ’ A Thousand Kisses Deep’ (2014) and Carole King for ‘Tapestry Unravelled’ (2010). Settings of poems by Eva Salzman appear on different Tobin albums including ‘Secret Life of a Girl’(2008) as do songs by Bob Dylan, while it was Joni Mitchell’s ‘Mingus’ album that opened the door for Tobin into jazz.

Not only has she won awards including Jazz Vocalist of the Year at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2014, but Tobin whose track record shows she is inspired by poetry, has the distinction of also making an appearance singing ‘Spring Can Really Hang You Up’ in the poem ‘The Last Waltz’  by Don Patterson, from his collection ‘Landing Light ‘.

Of the ten numbers we heard only two were Tobin originals, though as Tobin is so good at making Leonard Cohen songs her own, arguably there were not two but three originals. The foursome started with what was the first of five standards, a twelve minute version of ‘I Didn’t Know what Time It Was’ which allowed plenty of time for instrumental breaks. Tobin scatted over minimalist accompaniment from Frank and Mark. We had an extended solo from guitarist Robson over Harrison’s comping, Robson playing without effects pedals and in classic semi- acoustic jazz guitar style. Then they swapped, Harrison soloing with Robson comping and with Hodgson joining the comping a little later with Robson before the double bassist went on to have his own solo. Listening to Tobin’ delivering the lyrics I was tempted to ditch my pencil, notepad and reviewer duties and just enjoy being carried along by her warm rich voice and clever phrasing. I didn’t but it was close.

Good as the opener was, and enjoyable as the rhythmic punch of ‘Old Devil Moon’ waslater in the set, the Gershwins’ ‘Embraceable You’ was the pick of the standards because of Tobin’s ability to get inside a song. In her singing you could hear and picture the song’s protagonist getting tipsy on love like the lyric says, and flirty and seductive, plus there was lovely work from Harrison and Hodgson in support.

Leonard Cohen’s ‘Everybody Knows’ was another highlight. It was about as certain as anything is in jazz that it would be with Tobin being such an outstanding interpreter of Cohen’s songs. This one has been in her repertoire a long time. She recorded it on 2008’s ’ Secret Life of a Girl’, that sis six years before recording her all Leonard Cohen album. In her hands the song’s protagonist seems even more cynical, fatalistic and weary than in the original, not despite of but because of Tobin’s light touch in delivering the lyrics, which Mark Hodgson’s two note double bass ostinato complemented perfectly. I thought there was the slightest glimmer of hope in Tobin’s version that hinted he/she/ us haven’t given up the fight. But maybe I am just being a cock-eyed optimist.

During Bob Dylan’s ‘Times they Are Changin’ the four musicians became a double duo of double bass and guitar on the beat and the piano and voice behind the beat. But there was still space for a dexterous guitar solo.

There wasn’t a Joni Mitchell song in the set but she was present in Tobin’s song ‘Brandy and Scars’ from her 2005 album ‘Romance and Revolution’.  Both the lyrics and how Tobin sung them were very Joni. Tobin added the refrain from ‘Eleanor Rigby’ “All the lonely people. where do they all come from?” to the end. Tobin’s answer to the question posed by The Beatles is ‘Brandy and Scars’ which charts thoughts and emotions that arise after a breakup from the perspective of the person who’s been left,

Art song is also an influence, as heard on the set’s one other Tobin composition, the energetic ‘Stone Cold’ from her 2003 album ‘You Draw the Line’,  both in the song’s lyrics and its delivery. It was delivered at pace, the words almost falling over one another which made it difficult to catch them all. But I think the song’s message is about keeping on in difficult circumstances., so highly topical. It’s probably the most difficult of the ten songs to sing but Tobin made light of this while the bridge was one of the several fine piano solos from Frank Harrison.

The set concluded with a Brazilian number which was a surprise to me as I don’t associate Christine with Brazilian songs. The lively uplifting number included a reference to the ‘Girl from Ipanema ‘. The tune did its job, sending everybody into the night with a smile on their face.

The night had a distinctly different feel not just because of Tobin’s presence but because a consequence of the drum-less line-up was a delightful lightness to much of the instrumental playing. I don’t recall there being a single ‘heavy’ moment. If there was it hasn’t stayed in my memory The absence of drums seemed to result in Frank Harrison in particular playing several elegantly flowing solos with even more freedom than usual.

Tobin isn’t a showy singer so when she hits a high note it’s all the more effective. The richness, warmth and expressiveness of her voice has often been rightly praised, and its timbre can draw you in from the first few notes. But it is her phrasing that for me gives her singing it’s unique quality. If it wasn’t already obvious, I have to confess to being a big fan who would be happy to hear her sing the telephone directory if it was possible to still find one.

The entertaining personal stories she told including the one about nickname she and Phil Robson gave to Mark Hodgson who stayed with them in Stoke Newington in the 00’s when over in London from Barcelona where he lived then, added to the intimacy and overall enjoyment of the gig.

On the night there had been Christine Tobin singer of standards, Tobin the interpreter of singer songwriters of the 60s and 70s, Tobin the composer and interpreter of her own songs and unexpectedly Christine Tobin’s Brazilian jazz, and all the Tobins had been high quality.

That said, Tobin and Robson were over- cautious in weighting the set in favour of standards, some of which Christine told me after she had not sung for fifteen years though you’d never have known.

It is to be expected that when guests play one -off gigs with residents that standards are likely to figure because as everyone on the bandstand is likely be familiar with the chord changes etc. But maybe additionally Tobin and Robson thought the audience at Frank and Marks were likely to be conservative in what they wanted?

To be clear the standards were enjoyable, especially ‘Embraceable You. But Christine Tobin is a composer who has something to say and draws on a wide range of other musics from folk to art song as well as jazz to say it. For this reason I would have liked to have heard more of the Christine Tobin that’s the composer and interpreter of her own songs.

But this comment is far outweighed by the overall quality of the gig. All four of the foursome did the business and then some. It was a great music and great entertainment, and was very warmly received. I hope it won’t be eleven years until Christine Tobin is back performing in Oxford.

Thanks to Christine for speaking to me afterwards and to Frank Harrison for arranging my ticket.

To find out more about Christine Tobin’s music and latest activities please visit
https://www.christinetobin.org/bio

Set List;
I Didn’t Know What Time It Was (Rodgers and Hart) 1939
Brandy and Scars Christine Tobin from Romance and Revolution 2004
You Go to my Head (Coots and Gillespie) 1938
Little Girl Blue (Rodgers and Hart) 1935
Everybody Knows Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson)
Old Devil Moon (Lane and Harburg) 1947
Times They Are A Changin’ Bob Dylan 1963
Stone Cold Christine Tobin from You Draw the Line 2006
Embraceable You (George and Ira Gershwin) 1928
Brazilian Number

COLIN MAY