Pink Martini
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| Pink Martini | |
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 Pink Martini at the Oregon Zoo.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Genre(s) | Jazz, latin, lounge music, classical, others |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Label(s) | Heinz (USA), Wrasse (UK) |
| Website | pinkmartini.com |
| Members | |
| Thomas Lauderdale (artistic director) China Forbes Robert Taylor Gavin Bondy Paloma Griffin Brian Davis Derek Rieth Martin Zarzar Phil Baker Timothy Nishimoto Maureen Love |
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| Former members | |
| Doug Smith Jonas Tauber David Eby John Wager Richard Rothfus |
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Pink Martini is a "little orchestra"[1] from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They blend genres of music such as Latin, lounge, classical, and jazz. Their music has often been described as "vintage music"[who?], a descriptive which reflects the content, style and period inspiring many of their songs. Band leader, Thomas Lauderdale describes the band's sound as "music of the world without being world music. It's kind of like urban symphonic crossed with Cuban/Brazilian street Carnival parade, Breakfast at Tiffany's/United Nations kind of thing. The goal was to kind of records with which one would hopefully never grow tired of. Records that could be played whether you were sad or gleeful. Cleaning, vacuuming around the house or seducing somebody's grandmother."[2]
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[edit] History
Originally brought together to play political functions in Portland[1], Pink Martini made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival.[1] Leading up to 2003, they toured several countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Monaco, Greece, Turkey, Peru, Taiwan, Lebanon and the United States, performing either by themselves or accompanied by various orchestras. The songs' lyrics involve different languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic, and Modern Greek.[1]
Pink Martini's debut album, Sympathique, was released on Pink Martini's own label, Heinz Records, in 1997. Over 1.3 million copies of the record have been sold worldwide.[3] The song of the same name is also featured on Putumayo World Music "World Lounge" CD.
In October 2004, the group released its second album, Hang on Little Tomato. In the transition from its first to its second album, guest-singer Pepe Raphael left to concentrate on his other band, Pepe and the Bottle Blondes. Lead singer China Forbes continued to write songs with Lauderdale.
Pink Martini songs appear in such films as In the Cut, Nurse Betty, Josie and the Pussycats, Tortilla Soup, Shanghai Kiss and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and have been used on television shows such as Dead Like Me, The Sopranos and The West Wing, among others[citation needed]. The song "No Hay Problema" is included as background/setup music for Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 and was also used as the background/setup music for an early build of Windows Longhorn, now known as Windows Vista.[citation needed]
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 was recorded for a live DVD and later broadcast on US public broadcasting and French television.[citation needed] The DVD has been rereleased 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.
Because Pink Martini has a larger-than-average membership, the group had trouble finding venues in other cities to play. With the help of a friend, Norman Leyden, it started performing with various orchestras across the nation. On June 1, 2007, the band appeared on the long-running BBC Two Later with Jools Holland TV music program. In mid-September 2007, the group returned to the Hollywood Bowl for three performances that included guest performers Carol Channing and Henri Salvador.
On June 14, 2007, Pink Martini performed on Late Show with David Letterman, performing "Hey Eugene".[4]
Pink Martini played Walt Disney Concert Hall on New Year's Eve for the first two years it was open (2003/4 and 2004/5). They returned to play NYE there again in 2008/9.
Pink Martini recorded live during three performances at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with the Oregon Symphony between May 31st and June 2nd, 2009. An album of the performances is expected Spring 2010.
Their fourth studio album, Splendor in the Grass is due out October 2009.
[edit] Discography
- Sympathique (1997) Wrasse Records
- Hang on Little Tomato (2004) Wrasse Records
- Hey Eugene! (2007) Wrasse Records
- Discover the World: Live in Concert (DVD) (2009) Heinz Records
- Splendor in the Grass (2009) Heinz Records Expected release: October 2009.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d About Pink Martini from their official website
- ^ Pink Martini. (2009). Discover the World. [DVD]. Heinz Records.
- ^ "Make mine Martini", Portland Tribune, retrieved May 15, 2007.
- ^ Late Show with David Letterman - 14x163 John Cusack, Pink Martini, Turkey Gobbling Champions - shareTV.org
[edit] External links
- Pink Martini at the Internet Movie Database, for a partial list of soundtrack appearances
- Pink Martini official website
