Pink Martini
Encyclopedia
Pink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon
, formed in 1994
by pianist
Thomas M. Lauderdale
. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop
.
in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony
in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden
. Since then, the band has gone on to play with over 30 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 and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. Other appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year’s Eve 2003, 2004 & 2008; two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in NYC; the Governor’s Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; and the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia.
Lauderdale met China Forbes
, Pink Martini’s lead vocalist, at Harvard. He was studying history and literature while she was studying English literature and painting. Late at night, they would break into the lower common room in their college dormitory and sing arias by Puccini and Verdi – and the occasional campy Barbara Streisand cover –thus sealing their creative collaboration. Three years after graduating, Lauderdale called Forbes who was living in New York City, where she’d been writing songs and playing guitar in her own folk-rock project, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together for the band. Their first song “Sympathique”– with the chorus “Je ne veux pas travailler”(”I don’t want to work”) – became an overnight sensation in France, and was even nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards.
Pink Martini’s debut album Sympathique
was released independently in 1997 on the band’s own label Heinz Records
(named after Lauderdale’s dog), and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist”in France’s Victoires de la Musique
Awards in 2000.
In October 2004, the group released its second album, Hang on Little Tomato
.
In May 2007, the group released its third album, Hey Eugene!
.
Their fourth studio album, Splendor in the Grass (album)
was released on October 27, 2009.
Sympathique
, Hang on Little Tomato
and Hey Eugene!
have all gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey, and Pink Martini's records have collectively sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.
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. The DVD has been rereleased 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.
The band has collaborated and performed with Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Henri Salvador, Jane Powell, Chavela Vargas, Georges Moustaki, Michael Feinstein, DJ Dimitri from Paris
, clarinetist and conductor Norman Leyden, Hiroshi Wada, DJ Johnny Dynell and several drag queens from New York City, among others. 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".
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.
In May 2009, the band recorded three concerts with the Oregon Symphony
under the direction of Carlos Kalmar
for the band’s fifth album … a symphonic record which is slated for a 2011 release.
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. Their song "Una notte a Napoli" is an integral part of the Italian movie Mine Vaganti
(2010), by the Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Özpetek
. 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
.
In February 2011, the group's lead singer, 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. The greeting was set to the sound track of Dosvedanya Mio Bombino - one of Pink Martini's signature songs - and was mixed with footage of the actual docking.
In November 2011, they played at the Balboa Theater with the Bonita Vista High School
band, Club Blue.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, formed in 1994
1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
by pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Thomas M. Lauderdale
Thomas M. Lauderdale
Thomas Mack Lauderdale is a musician, largely known for his work with the Portland-based band Pink Martini.-Early life:...
. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
History
Pink Martini has twelve musicians (and sometimes travels with string sections), and performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia and New Zealand and North America. Pink Martini made its European debut at the Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden
Norman Leyden
Norman Fowler Leyden is an American, conductor, arranger, and clarinetist. He has worked in film and television and is perhaps best known as the conductor of the Oregon Symphony Pops orchestra...
. Since then, the band has gone on to play with over 30 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. Other appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year’s Eve 2003, 2004 & 2008; two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in NYC; the Governor’s Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; and the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia.
Lauderdale met China Forbes
China Forbes
China Forbes is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Pink Martini.Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her father is American of French/Scottish descent, and her mother is African American...
, Pink Martini’s lead vocalist, at Harvard. He was studying history and literature while she was studying English literature and painting. Late at night, they would break into the lower common room in their college dormitory and sing arias by Puccini and Verdi – and the occasional campy Barbara Streisand cover –thus sealing their creative collaboration. Three years after graduating, Lauderdale called Forbes who was living in New York City, where she’d been writing songs and playing guitar in her own folk-rock project, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together for the band. Their first song “Sympathique”– with the chorus “Je ne veux pas travailler”(”I don’t want to work”) – became an overnight sensation in France, and was even nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards.
Pink Martini’s debut album Sympathique
Sympathique
Sympathique is the first full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released on November 11, 1997 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records...
was released independently in 1997 on the band’s own label Heinz Records
Heinz Records
Heinz Records is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon. The label was founded in 1997 by Thomas M. Lauderdale and the band Pink Martini....
(named after Lauderdale’s dog), and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist”in France’s Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...
Awards in 2000.
In October 2004, the group released its second album, Hang on Little Tomato
Hang on Little Tomato
Hang On Little Tomato is the second full-length album from the band Pink Martini. Seven years after their debut album, it was released on October 19, 2004 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records...
.
In May 2007, the group released its third album, Hey Eugene!
Hey Eugene!
Hey Eugene! is the third full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released on May 15, 2007 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records....
.
Their fourth studio album, Splendor in the Grass (album)
Splendor in the Grass (album)
Splendor in the Grass is the fourth full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released in October 2009 on their own label Heinz Records....
was released on October 27, 2009.
Sympathique
Sympathique
Sympathique is the first full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released on November 11, 1997 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records...
, Hang on Little Tomato
Hang on Little Tomato
Hang On Little Tomato is the second full-length album from the band Pink Martini. Seven years after their debut album, it was released on October 19, 2004 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records...
and Hey Eugene!
Hey Eugene!
Hey Eugene! is the third full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released on May 15, 2007 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records....
have all gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey, and Pink Martini's records have collectively sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.
On New Year's Eve 2005, Pink Martini performed live at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall , opened as the Portland Publix Theater before becoming the Paramount after 1930, is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States...
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. The DVD has been rereleased 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.
The band has collaborated and performed with Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Henri Salvador, Jane Powell, Chavela Vargas, Georges Moustaki, Michael Feinstein, DJ Dimitri from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, clarinetist and conductor Norman Leyden, Hiroshi Wada, DJ Johnny Dynell and several drag queens from New York City, among others. On June 1, 2007, the band appeared on the long-running BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
Later with Jools Holland
Later with Jools Holland
Later... with Jools Holland is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jools Holland. A spin-off of The Late Show, it has been running in short series since 1992 and is a part of BBC Two's late-night line-up, usually at around 11pm to 12 midnight...
TV music program. On June 14, 2007, Pink Martini performed on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
, performing "Hey Eugene".
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.
In May 2009, the band recorded three concerts with the Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
under the direction of Carlos Kalmar
Carlos Kalmar
Carlos Kalmar is a Uruguayan conductor. He began violin studies at age six. At age fifteen, he enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music where his conducting teacher was Karl Österreicher...
for the band’s fifth album … a symphonic record which is slated for a 2011 release.
Pink Martini songs appear in such films as In the Cut
In the Cut
In the Cut is a 2003 American erotic thriller and mystery film, written and directed by Jane Campion and starring Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Campion's screenplay is an adaption of the novel of the same name by Susanna Moore...
, Nurse Betty
Nurse Betty
Nurse Betty is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Neil LaBute starring Renée Zellweger as a sweet Kansas waitress who undergoes a nervous breakdown after witnessing her husband's murder, and starts obsessively pursuing her favorite soap actor....
, Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats (film)
Josie and the Pussycats is a 2001 comedy film released by Universal Studios and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed and co-written by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, the film is loosely based upon the Archie comic of the same name...
, Tortilla Soup
Tortilla Soup
Tortilla Soup is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Maria Ripoll. The screenplay by Tom Musca, Ramón Menéndez, and Vera Blasi is based on the film Eat Drink Man Woman, which was written by Hui-Ling Wang, Ang Lee, and James Schamus.-Plot:...
, Shanghai Kiss
Shanghai Kiss
Shanghai Kiss is a 2007 direct-to-DVD romantic drama comedy. The film was released on DVD on October 9, 2007.Hayden Panettiere won the Feature Film Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival for her role as Adelaide.- Synopsis :...
and Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American romantic comedy action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The original music score was composed by John Powell...
and have been used on television shows such as Dead Like Me
Dead Like Me
Dead Like Me was an American-Canadian comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for the Showtime network, where it ran for two seasons...
, The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
and The West Wing, among others. Their song "Una notte a Napoli" is an integral part of the Italian movie Mine Vaganti
Loose Cannons (film)
Loose Cannons is a 2010 Italian film directed by Turkish-Italian film director Ferzan Özpetek.-Plot:The Cantones are a bourgeois family who own a pasta factory in Lecce in the conservative southern Italy. One of the two sons, Tommaso, returns from his studies in Rome and hopes to make the most of...
(2010), by the Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Özpetek
Ferzan Özpetek
Ferzan Özpetek is an Italian-Turkish film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy.- Biography :Ferzan Ozpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. When he was a young student in 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at Sapienza University of Rome...
. The song "No Hay Problema" is included as background/setup music for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005...
and was also used as the background/setup music for an early build of Windows Longhorn, now known as Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
.
In February 2011, the group's lead singer, China Forbes, recorded a video greeting to the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
's Italian astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri, on board the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. The astronauts were preparing to oversee the docking of ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle
Automated Transfer Vehicle
The Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is an expendable, unmanned resupply spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency . ATVs are designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload and experiments...
(ATV) cargo vessel, Johannes Kepler, which took place at 17:08 CET on 24 February. The greeting was set to the sound track of Dosvedanya Mio Bombino - one of Pink Martini's signature songs - and was mixed with footage of the actual docking.
In November 2011, they played at the Balboa Theater with the Bonita Vista High School
Bonita Vista High School
Bonita Vista High School is a public, four year high school located in the city of Chula Vista, California. Bonita Vista High School is one of the few schools that has both the IB and AP programs. It is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District, and currently has about 2,800 students....
band, Club Blue.
Discography
- 1997: SympathiqueSympathiqueSympathique is the first full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released on November 11, 1997 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records...
- 2004: Hang on Little TomatoHang on Little TomatoHang On Little Tomato is the second full-length album from the band Pink Martini. Seven years after their debut album, it was released on October 19, 2004 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records...
#122 US - 2007: Hey Eugene!Hey Eugene!Hey Eugene! is the third full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released on May 15, 2007 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records....
#30 US - 2009: Splendor in the GrassSplendor in the Grass (album)Splendor in the Grass is the fourth full-length album from the band Pink Martini. It was released in October 2009 on their own label Heinz Records....
#45 US - 2010: Joy to the WorldJoy to the World (Pink Martini album)-Charts:-Certifications:...
#35 US - 2011: A RetrospectiveA Retrospective (Pink Martini album)A Retrospective is a compilation album by Pink Martini, released in 2011 through Heinz Records. Guest artists appearing on the album include Georges Moustaki, Michael Feinstein , New York City DJ Johnny Dynell and director Gus Van Sant.-Track listing:# "Una Notte a Napoli " # "Hang On Little...
#67 CAN - 2011: 19691969 (Pink Martini album)1969 is a studio album by Pink Martini and Saori Yuki, released in 2011 through Heinz Records.-Track listing:# "Yuuzuki [Evening Moon]"# "Mayonaka no Bossa Nova " # "Du Soleil Plein Les Yeux [Eyes Full of Sun]"...
(duet with Saori YukiSaori Yukiis a Japanese singer and actress. She was born as Akiko Yasuda in Kiryu, Gunma, Japan and raised in Yokohama. She started her singing career with her older sister Sachiko as a child singer...
) #64 CAN