Pink Martini

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Pink Martini
Pink Martini - 2012 Savannah Music Festival.jpg
Pink Martini - 2012 Savannah Music Festival
Background information
Origin Portland, Oregon, United States
Genres Classical, traditional pop, Latin, jazz, pop, rock, easy listening [1]
Years active1994 (1994)–present
Labels Heinz, Naïve, Wrasse, Audiogram
Members
Past members
  • Doug Smith
  • Jonas Tauber
  • David Eby
  • John Wager
  • Derek Rieth
  • Richard Rothfus
  • Pepe Raphael
  • Paloma Griffin
  • Martin Zarzar
  • Anthony Jones
  • J. Michael Kearsey
Website pinkmartini.com

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. [2] The co-lead vocalists of Pink Martini are China Forbes [3] and Storm Large.

Contents

History

Thomas Lauderdale has worked in politics since his years in high school in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. He considered the music at most fundraisers loud and boring. So as a remedy he founded the band Pink Martini in 1994, crossing genres such as classical, latin, traditional pop, jazz to appeal to a broad audience. During the following year, he called China Forbes, one of his colleagues from Harvard University, and invited her to join the band. Their first single, Sympathique, was released in 1997 and was nominated as "Song of the Year" at the "Victoires de la Musique Awards" in France.

Forbes is monolingual but sings in 15 languages. "All of us in Pink Martini have studied different languages as well as different styles of music from different parts of the world", says Lauderdale. "So inevitably, our repertoire is wildly diverse. At one moment, you feel like you're in the middle of a samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, and in the next moment, you're in a French music hall of the 1930s or in a Palazzo in Napoli. It's a bit like an urban musical travelogue. We're very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America… the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world… composed of people of every country, every language, every religion". [4] Featuring 10–12 musicians, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout the world.

Performing

China Forbes in 2006 ChinaForbes.jpg
China Forbes in 2006

Pink Martini made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut in 1998 with the Oregon Symphony under the direction of Norman Leyden. Since then, the band has gone on to play with more than 50 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Symphony, and the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London.

Thomas M. Lauderdale performing with Pink Martini at the Crystal Ballroom (Portland, Oregon) in 2008 Tlaud.jpg
Thomas M. Lauderdale performing with Pink Martini at the Crystal Ballroom (Portland, Oregon) in 2008

Other appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year's Eve 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2011; two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in New York City; the Governor's Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia; two sold-out concerts at Paris' legendary L'Olympia Theatre in 2011; and Paris' fashion house Lanvin's 10-year anniversary celebration for designer Alber Elbaz in 2012. In its twentieth year, Pink Martini was inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. Pink Martini performed with the Eugene Ballet in 2006 and 2018. [5]

On New Year's Eve 2005, Pink Martini performed live at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. This performance was aired live on National Public Radio's Toast of the Nation, and in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting was recorded for a live DVD and later broadcast on US public broadcasting and French television.[ citation needed ] The DVD has been re-released to retail as Discover the World: Live in Concert , featuring not only the full concert, but several vignettes and a short documentary of the band's history.

Festival du Bout du Monde 2014 Pink Martini - Festival du Bout du Monde 2014 - 042.jpg
Festival du Bout du Monde 2014

On November 22, 2005, Pink Martini appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien . [6] On June 1, 2007, the band appeared on the long-running BBC Two Later with Jools Holland TV music program. On June 14, 2007, Pink Martini performed on Late Show with David Letterman , performing "Hey Eugene". [7]

In December 2010 the band performed "We Three Kings" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and returned in December 2011 to perform "Santa Baby." [8]

In February 2011, China Forbes recorded a video greeting to the European Space Agency's Italian astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri, on board the International Space Station. The astronauts were preparing to oversee the docking of ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo vessel, Johannes Kepler, which took place at 17:08 CET on 24 February. [9] The greeting was set to the soundtrack of Dosvedanya Mio Bombino—one of Pink Martini's signature songs—and was mixed with footage of the docking.

Recording

Occupy Portland and Pink Martini.jpg
Pink Martini entertains Occupy Portland protesters
Occupy Portland, October 28 Storm Large.jpg
Pink Martini with Storm Large, Occupy Portland, October 28, 2011

Pink Martini's debut album Sympathique was released independently in 1997 on the band's own label, Heinz Records, and earned the group nominations for "Song of the Year" and "Best New Artist" in France's Victoires de la Musique Awards in 2000.

Pink Martini released Hang On Little Tomato in 2004, Hey Eugene! in 2007 and Splendor in the Grass in 2009. In November 2010 the band released Joy to the World , a festive, multi-denominational holiday album featuring songs from around the globe. Joy to the World received glowing reviews and was carried in Starbucks stores during the 2010 and 2011 holiday seasons. All five albums have gone gold in France, Canada, Greece, and Turkey and have sold well over 2.5 million copies worldwide. [10]

In Fall 2011, the band released two albums: A Retrospective , a collection of the band's most beloved songs spanning their 17-year career, which includes eight previously unreleased tracks, and 1969 , an album of collaborations with Japanese singer Saori Yuki. 1969 has been certified platinum in Japan, reaching No. 2 on the Japanese charts. On September 24, 2013 the band released their seventh studio album Get Happy . On March 4, 2014, they released Dream a Little Dream with the von Trapps.

In August 2014, Derek Rieth was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in what was ruled a suicide. [11] [12] In his honor, the band established the Derek Rieth Foundation with the goal of "Empowering Youth Through Music and Dance". [13]

In 2016, Pink Martini released its 9th new studio album, Je dis oui! , featuring three songs bandleader Thomas Lauderdale co-wrote for the film Souvenir starring Isabelle Huppert. The album's guest vocalists include Ari Shapiro, Rufus Wainwright, Kathleen Saadat, and Ikram Goldman.

In 2018, the band released a "20th Anniversary Edition" of its seminal debut album Sympathique . This version of the album features the band's popular arrangement of Ravel's "Bolero", which had to be removed from the original album, and was reinstated on the 20th Anniversary Edition after entering the public domain. Also in 2018, the band collected songs in French from across its catalogue and released them on a compilation entitled Non Ouais! - The French Songs of Pink Martini.

The band has performed with Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Jane Powell, Henri Salvador, Chavela Vargas, Joey Arias, Basil Twist, Georges Moustaki, Michael Feinstein, Gus Van Sant, Courtney Taylor Taylor of The Dandy Warhols, Norman Leyden, Hiroshi Wada, Alba Clemente, Johnny Dynell and Chi Chi Valenti, Ari Shapiro, Pepe Raphael of Pepe & the Bottle Blondes, the original cast of Sesame Street , Lions of Batucada, Jorge Alabê, March Fourth Marching Band, the Bonita Vista High School Marching Band from Chula Vista, California, and the Pacific Youth Choir of Portland, Oregon.

Pink Martini's songs appear in the films In the Cut , Nurse Betty , Josie and the Pussycats , Tortilla Soup , Hitch, Shanghai Kiss , Mary and Max , and Mr. & Mrs. Smith and have been used on the television shows Dead Like Me , The Sopranos , The West Wing , Castle , Sherlock , Parks and Recreation , Better Call Saul , and Scream Queens . Their song "Una notte a Napoli" is an integral part of the Italian movie Mine Vaganti (2010) by Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Özpetek.

Heinz Records

Heinz Records is an independent record label that produces the band's albums. Named after Lauderdale's dog, Heinz Records is run by its members and is distributed by RED Distribution. Heinz Records is also the label for China Forbes, Storm Large, and The von Trapps.

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Forbes</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1970)

China Forbes 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Lauderdale</span> Musical artist

Thomas Mack Lauderdale is an American musician and pianist, largely known for his work with his Portland-based band Pink Martini.

Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Storm Large</span> American singer and actor (born 1969)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Leyden</span> American conductor

Norman Fowler Leyden was an American conductor, composer, arranger, and clarinetist. He worked in film and television and is perhaps best known as the conductor of the Oregon Symphony Pops orchestra. He co-wrote with Glenn Miller the theme "I Sustain the Wings" in 1943, which was used to introduce the World War II radio series.

<i>Sympathique</i> 1997 studio album by 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.

<i>Hang On Little Tomato</i> Album by Pink Martini

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.

<i>Hey Eugene!</i> 2007 studio album by Pink Martini

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.

<i>Splendor in the Grass</i> (album) 2009 studio album by 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.

<i>A Retrospective</i> (Pink Martini album) 2011 compilation album by Pink Martini

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.

Music for a Time of War is a 2011 concert program and subsequent album by the Oregon Symphony under the artistic direction of Carlos Kalmar. The program consists of four compositions inspired by war: Charles Ives'The Unanswered Question (1906), John Adams'The Wound-Dresser (1989), Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem (1940) and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 4 (1935). The program was performed on May 7, 2011, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, and again the following day. Both concerts were recorded for album release. On May 12, the Oregon Symphony repeated the program at the inaugural Spring for Music Festival, at Carnegie Hall. The performance was broadcast live by KQAC and WQXR-FM, the classical radio stations serving Portland and the New York City metropolitan area, respectively. The concerts marked the Oregon Symphony's first performances of The Wound-Dresser as well as guest baritone Sanford Sylvan's debut with the company.

<i>Get Happy</i> (Pink Martini album) 2013 studio album by Pink Martini

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.

<i>Dream a Little Dream</i> (Pink Martini and the von Trapps album) 2014 studio album by Pink Martini and the von Trapps

Dream a Little Dream is a collaborative studio album by Pink Martini and the von Trapps, released by Heinz Records on March 4, 2014. Members of the von Trapps, a Portland-based group of descendants of the von Trapp family, include Sofia, Melanie, Amanda and August von Trapp. The album features guests Charmian Carr, Jack Hanna, The Chieftains and Wayne Newton. Three of the songs were written by August von Trapp. In 2014 it was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe.

<i>Le Bonheur</i> (Storm Large album) 2014 studio album by Storm Large

Le Bonheur is an album by American singer-songwriter Storm Large. It marks the first release for Large with her newly formed band of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mahoney (conductor)</span> British conductor and producer

David Joseph Mahoney is a British conductor, producer and creative director.

<i>Je dis oui!</i> 2016 studio album by Pink Martini

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.

<i>Hotel Amour</i> 2019 studio album by Meow Meow and Thomas Lauderdale featuring Pink Martini

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.

Eugene Ballet is an American ballet company based in Eugene, Oregon. A resident company of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, it performs a repertoire of full-length classical ballets, contemporary pieces, and operates a ballet academy. For more than 20 years, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded Eugene Ballet performances throughout the Pacific Northwest and nationally.

References

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  2. "Pink Martini Bio". Pinkmartini.com. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  3. Nate Chinen (15 June 2007). "Grab a Cocktail and Listen to the Vintage-Chic Band". The New York Times . Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  4. "Pink Martini". CBS Sunday Morning. 1 January 2012. CBS.
  5. "Eugene Ballet performs to the music of Pink Martini Wednesday at OSU". Gazettetimes.com. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  6. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien Season 13 Episode 40". Tv.com. 22 November 2005. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  7. "Late Show with David Letterman Season 14 Episode 163". Tv.com. 14 June 2007. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  8. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Season 20 Episode 4468". Tv.com. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  9. "Pink Martini dedicates a song to astronauts Paolo & Aleksandr for ATV docking". European Space Agency. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  10. Pink Martini Official Website (4 June 2013). "Official Bio". Pinkmartini.com. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  11. Pink Martini Official Website (16 December 2013). "Derek Rieth 1971-2014". Pinkmartini.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  12. Kasia Hall (22 August 2014). "Pink Martini's Derek Rieth died of gunshot wound, death ruled a suicide". The Oregonian . Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  13. "The Derek Rieth Foundation". Derekriethfoundation.org. Retrieved 2 January 2016.