Pink Martini

Bio

Pink Martini is a band from Portland formed in 1994 from the will of Thomas M. Lauderdale which contacted the singer China Forbes to bring to life a “little orchestra” that could perform for political and social events. Pink Martini is composed, besides the singer China, of a dozen artists that perform in twenty-five different languages to give an international width to their performances and reach a national and international public.

Lauderdale and Forbes are the creative minds behind the band’s original arrangements and songs. Their first creation “Simpathique” immediately became a success and was nominated song of the year at the Victoires de la Musique awards. The track was part of the band’s debut album, the eponymous Simpathique (1997), which was released independently through their label Heinz Records.

The group had their European debut in 1997 performing at the 50th edition of the Cannes festival to then perform with the renowned Oregon Symphony a year later. From then Pink Martini performed alongside the best orchestras in the world and on the world’s most famous stages, such as the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In 2011 the band published two albums: A Retrospective, a collection of the most famous songs by the little orchestra, and 1969, a platinum-certified album born from the collaboration of Pink Martini with the renowned Japanese singer Saori Yuki. The record was acclaimed by the Japanese critics for the consideration and respect demonstrated towards Japan’s traditional pop.

In 2012 they released Get Happy, an album presenting songs in nine different languages. In 2014 they published Dream a Little Dream which hosted the performance of the real descendants of Maria von Trapp, the protagonist of the 1965’s cult film The Sound of Music.

Between 2016 and 2019 they released a string of three albums. Je dis oui! (2016) reaffirmed Pink Martini’s will to be as inclusive and global as possible and hosted performances by civil rights activist Kathleen Saadat and Rufus Wainwright. In 2018 they released a special edition of Simpathique to celebrate its 20th anniversary whilst in 2019 they collaborated with piano icon Michael Legrand and once again with Rufus Wainwright, and Th von Trapps for Hotel Amour.

Still, in 2019 they also released Bésame Mucho and Tomorrow, two five-songs EPs which saw two of the touring singers as protagonists: Edna Varquez (Bésame Mucho) and Jimmie Herrod (Tomorrow).

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