China Forbes | |
|---|---|
 Forbes with Pink Martini in concert, 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | April 29, 1970 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Labels | Heinz |
| Website | www |
China Forbes (born April 29, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter who has been the lead singer of the band Pink Martini since 1995. In 2022 she was the Ella Fitzgerald award winner at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
The daughter of Peggy (née Woodford) and Donald Cameron Forbes, China Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [1] Her father was of French and Scottish descent, and her mother is African-American. [2] [3] She attended Phillips Exeter Academy ('88), [4] then studied visual arts at Harvard University, [1] where she met Thomas Lauderdale, a classically trained pianist. [5] They became friends and met regularly to play music together. [5] At Harvard, she won the Jonathan Levy Prize for acting.
After graduating in 1992, Forbes worked as an actress for several years, performing Off-Broadway in New York City. She then became a musician, forming a band and recording a solo album. She sang the song "Ordinary Girl" for the television series Clueless and "Que Sera Sera" over the credits for the movie In the Cut . [1] While living in Portland, Oregon, Lauderdale asked her to sing with Pink Martini, a band he had assembled to play at political fundraisers. After three years commuting from New York, she moved to Portland in 1998 to work full-time with the band. [5] Forbes and Lauderdale co-wrote the band's hit "Sympathique (Je ne Veux Pas Travailler)" among many other band originals.
Apart from her work with Pink Martini, she has released solo albums, including Love Handle (November 1995) and '78 (Heinz 2008) which includes her song "Hey Eugene" in its original version. She is featured on Michael Feinstein's album The Sinatra Project , singing a duet of "How Long Will It Last?". [6] She recorded two songs in French with Georges Moustaki for his album Solitaire.
She is a cousin of former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and indie-rock musician Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear. [7] Her sister is Maya Forbes, a screenwriter and director. [8]
With Pink Martini
With others
Dorothy Jacqueline Keely, professionally known as Keely Smith, was an American jazz and popular music singer, who performed and recorded extensively in the 1950s with then-husband Louis Prima, and throughout the 1960s as a solo artist.
Pink Martini is an American band founded in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Group members call it a little orchestra that crosses several styles, such as classical, latin, traditional pop, and jazz. The co-lead vocalists of Pink Martini are China Forbes and Storm Large.
Thomas Mack Lauderdale is an American musician and pianist, largely known for his work with his Portland-based band Pink Martini.
Georges Moustaki was an Egyptian-French singer-songwriter of Jewish Italo-Greek origin. He wrote about 300 songs for some of the most popular singers in France, including Édith Piaf, Dalida, Françoise Hardy, Yves Montand, Barbara, Brigitte Fontaine, Herbert Pagani, France Gall, Cindy Daniel, Juliette Gréco, Pia Colombo, and Tino Rossi, as well as for himself.
Wallace Wolodarsky, also billed as Wally Wolodarsky, is an American actor, screenwriter, television producer, and film director known for being one of the writers for The Simpsons during the first four seasons with his writing partner Jay Kogen.
Storm Large is an American singer, songwriter, actress and author. She attracted national attention as a contestant on the CBS reality television show Rock Star: Supernova. A resident of Portland, Oregon, Large performs nationally with her own band, and tours internationally with the Portland-based band Pink Martini.
Sympathique is the first studio album from American band Pink Martini. It was released on November 11, 1997 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records. As of 2013 it has sold over one million copies worldwide.
Hang On Little Tomato is the second studio album by American band Pink Martini, released on October 19, 2004, by their own record label, Heinz Records. It has been certified gold in France, Canada, Greece, and Turkey. It was then certified double platinum in France by the UPFI in 2013. In 2014, it was awarded a platinum certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, denoting sales in excess of 400,000 copies across Europe. As of October 2013, it had sold 750,000 copies worldwide.
Hey Eugene! is the third studio album by American band Pink Martini, released on May 15, 2007, by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records. The album is named after the track "Hey Eugene", a fan favorite at the band's live concerts. As with most Pink Martini albums, Hey Eugene! features lyrics in several languages: French, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, and English. The song "Bukra wba'do", meaning "tomorrow and the day after" in Arabic, describes a lover's anticipation of a first date.
Dan Faehnle is an American guitarist from Ohio who is a member of the band Pink Martini.
Splendor in the Grass is the fourth full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released in October 27, 2009 on their own label Heinz Records.
Lucy Woodward is an English-American singer-songwriter. She has recorded for Atlantic, Verve, and GroundUP and has sung background vocals for Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Snarky Puppy, Celine Dion, Pink Martini, Gavin DeGraw, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Nikka Costa, and Randy Jackson. She co-wrote Stacie Orrico's Top 40 hit "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life".
Joy to the World is the fifth studio album from the band Pink Martini. It was released on November 16, 2010 under the band's own label, Heinz Records. The album was recorded and mixed at Kung Fu Bakery in Portland, Oregon in May 2008 and from May–August 2010. Their rendition of "We Three Kings" was released as a Starbucks free download. In 2014 it was awarded a double silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 40,000 copies throughout Europe.
A Retrospective is the first compilation album by the American group Pink Martini, released in September 2011 in the United Kingdom and the following month in the United States, Australia and Canada. The album contains twenty-one tracks from six studio albums. Guest artists include Michael Feinstein, French singer and songwriter Georges Moustaki and director Gus Van Sant ; the compilation also features remixes by New York City disc jockey Johnny Dynell and Hiroshi Wada.
"Hey Eugene!" is a song performed by the band Pink Martini on their third full-length album Hey Eugene! released in 2007. The song was written by China Forbes and peaked at #53 in Switzerland in 2007.
Get Happy is the sixth studio album from the American musical group Pink Martini. It was released on September 24, 2013, under the band's own label, Heinz Records. Guest artists include Phyllis Diller, Philippe Katerine, Meow Meow, Ari Shapiro, the von Trapps, and Rufus Wainwright.
Maya Forbes is an American screenwriter and television producer. She made her debut as a film director with Infinitely Polar Bear (2014). Her other writing credits include the screenplay of The Rocker (2008) and many episodes of The Larry Sanders Show. She was a co-executive producer of The Larry Sanders Show in its later seasons and executive producer of the sitcom The Naked Truth.
Je dis oui! is an album by Pink Martini, released by Heinz Records on November 18, 2016. Guests vocalists include Ari Shapiro, Ikram Goldman, Kathleen Saadat, and Rufus Wainwright. The album was recorded at Kung Fu Bakery and B-Side Studios in Portland, Oregon. It was produced by Thomas Lauderdale and Kyle Mustain, and engineered by Dave Friedlander and Steve Sundholm.
Hotel Amour is a studio album by Meow Meow and Thomas Lauderdale featuring Pink Martini, released on March 22, 2019 via Heinz Records. Featured guests include Barry Humphries, Michel Legrand, Rufus Wainwright, and The von Trapps.
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