Pink Martini

  • Portland, OR
    hometown
  • Alternative
    genre
  • 1994
    started
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About Pink Martini


The eclectic, acoustic-oriented sounds of Pink Martini have never been easy to categorize, but that hasn't prevented the Portland, OR-based band from acquiring a loyal, enthusiastic cult following. Some reviewers have considered Pink Martini to be a product of the neo-swing trend of the 1990s and have compared them to bands like the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies; however, Pink Martini have a much broader range of influences. And while most of the neo-swing acts that emerged in the 1990s favored a combination of jump blues and early rock & roll -- sort of Louis Jordan and Big Joe Turner by way of Little Richard, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry -- the diverse Pink Martini have offered a risk-taking blend of jazz (mainly swing), world music, cabaret, lounge, and 1940s-1950s film music. Pink Martini's influences are far-reaching, ranging from Cole Porter and Duke Ellington to French icon Edith Piaf to Latin greats such as Xavier Cugat, Beny Moré, and Tito Puente -- and a variety of world music has affected them, including French chanson, Afro-Cuban salsa, Argentinian tango, Brazilian samba and bossa nova, Italian folk, Greek rembetiko, Middle Eastern music, and Asian music. Impressively, Pink Martini's lead singer, China Forbes (b. April 29, 1970, Cambridge, MA), has performed in at least ten different languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Greek, Arabic, and Japanese. In 2004, Pink Martini founder/pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale (b. July 14, 1970, Oakland, CA) articulated the band's global outlook perfectly when he said: "I think it's important to be a citizen of the world as opposed to being a citizen of this particular country. Part of that means studying other people's languages."

Lauderdale formed Pink Martini in 1994, hiring Forbes as the band's lead singer the following year. Neither Lauderdale nor Forbes is a native of Portland; Forbes, who grew up in Cambridge, met Lauderdale when both of them were attending Harvard University in the late '80s (she graduated in 1992). And Lauderdale lived in California and Indiana as a kid, although he spent his teens in Portland and moved back to Portland not long after graduating from Harvard. Forbes recorded a solo album, Love Handle, in 1995, but Pink Martini quickly became her main focus. Other members of Pink Martini have included Gavin Bondy on trumpet, Robert Taylor on trombone, Phil Baker on acoustic bass, Nicholas Crosa on violin, Brian Lavern Davis on drums and percussion, Timothy Nishimoto on percussion and vocals, and Derek Rieth and Martín Zarzar on percussion. Pink Martini's debut album, Sympathique, was released on their own independent label, Heinz Records, in 1997; they went on to release their second album, Hang on Little Tomato, on Heinz in 2004 and their third album, Hey Eugene!, on Heinz in 2007. The following year, Heinz released Forbes' second solo album, '78, which was a major departure from her work with Pink Martini and favored an introspective adult alternative approach along the lines of Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan. The year 2009 was a busy one for the band, with the concert DVD Discover the World: Live in Concert, which showed how Pink Martini spent most of their 2008, arriving that summer and the album Splendor in the Grass, which featured collaborations with Chavela Vargas and the Dandy Warhols' Courtney Taylor-Taylor, appearing that fall. In 2010 they released the swellegant holiday album Joy to the World. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

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  • Pink Martini

News

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  • Pink Martini
    Pink Martini Serves Up 'Splendor'
    www.billboard.com
    750,000 sales, according to Nielson SoundScan. Lauderdale says the band feels very fortunate for this and credits Pink Martini's fans as "one of the f...
    Read More
  • Pink Martini
    Pink Martini Serves Up 'Splendor'
    www.billboard.com
    750,000 sales, according to Nielson SoundScan. Lauderdale says the band feels very fortunate for this and credits Pink Martini's fans as "one of the f...
    Read More
  • Pink Martini
    Pink Martini Sips Sweet Indie Success | Billboard.com
    www.billboard.com
    Tennant says. For "Splendor," Feldman says the group will tour extensively in Europe in November, New York in December, Australia in January and likel...
    Read More
  • Pink Martini
    Pink Martini enjoys steady sips of indie success
    music.yahoo.com
    SoundScan. Since then, Pink Martini has secured licensing deals with companies like Nike and Jeep and has had song placements in TV shows like "CSI: N...
    Read More

Tour Dates

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  • May 25 Saturday
    Houston, TX, US Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
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  • May 26 Sunday
    Houston, TX, US Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
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  • Jun 20 Thursday
    Midland, MI, US Midland Center for the Arts
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  • Jun 21 Friday
    Rochester, NY, US Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
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  • Jun 21 Friday
    Rochester, NY, US Unknown venue
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  • Jun 22 Saturday
    Granville, OH, US Campus Commons, Denison University
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  • Jun 24 Monday
    Grand Rapids, MI, US Frederik Meijer Gardens
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  • Jun 25 Tuesday
    Ann Arbor, MI, US Power Center for the Performing Arts
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  • Jun 26 Wednesday
    Toronto, ON, Canada Roy Thomson Hall
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  • Jun 27 Thursday
    Montreal, QC, Canada Salle Wilfred-Pelletier, Place des Arts
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  • Jun 27 Thursday
    Montreal, QC, Canada Place des Arts
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  • Jun 28 Friday
    Montreal, QC, Canada Place des Arts
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  • Jun 28 Friday
    Montreal, QC, Canada Salle Wilfred-Pelletier, Place des Arts
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  • Jun 29 Saturday
    Hyannis, MA, US Cape Cod Melody Tent
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  • Jul 1 Monday
    Vienna, VA, US Filene Center, Wolf Trap
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  • Jul 2 Tuesday
    Great Barrington, MA, US Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
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  • Jul 5 Friday
    Steamboat Springs, CO, US Strings Music Pavilion
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  • Jul 5 Friday
    Denver, CO, US Strings Music Festival Park
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  • Jul 6 Saturday
    Aspen, CO, US Jazz Aspen Festival
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  • Jul 7 Sunday
    Arvada, CO, US Arvada Center For The Arts & Humanities
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  • Jul 8 Monday
    Boulder, CO, US Chautauqua Auditorium
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  • Jul 9 Tuesday
    Salt Lake City, UT, US Red Butte Garden
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  • Jul 11 Thursday
    Grass Valley, CA, US Nevada County Fairgrounds
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  • Jul 11 Thursday
    Boise, ID, US Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, Boise State University
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  • Jul 12 Friday
    Bend, OR, US Les Schwab Amphitheater
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  • Jul 14 Sunday
    Rohnert Park, CA, US Weill Hall at Green Music Center
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  • Jul 16 Tuesday
    Jacksonville, OR, US Britt Pavilion
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  • Jul 19 Friday
    Los Angeles, CA, US Hollywood Bowl
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  • Jul 20 Saturday
    Los Angeles, CA, US Hollywood Bowl
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  • Jul 21 Sunday
    Los Angeles, CA, US Hollywood Bowl
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  • Aug 2 Friday
    Troutdale, OR, US McMenamin's Edgefield Amphitheater
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  • Aug 3 Saturday
    Troutdale, OR, US McMenamin's Edgefield Amphitheater
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  • Aug 4 Sunday
    Redmond, WA, US Marymoor Park Concerts
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  • Aug 11 Sunday
    San Francisco, CA, US Stern Grove Festival
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  • Oct 1 Tuesday
    Warsaw, Poland Palace of Culture and Science
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  • Oct 5 Saturday
    Bonn, Germany Telekom Forum
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  • Oct 7 Monday
    Berlin, Germany Udk Konzertsaal Hardenbergstraße
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  • Oct 8 Tuesday
    Hamburg, Germany Laeiszhalle Hamburg
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  • Oct 9 Wednesday
    Munich, Germany Prinzregententheater
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  • Oct 13 Sunday
    Paris, France Le Bataclan
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  • Mar 11 Tuesday
    Kalamazoo, MI, US Miller Auditorium, Western Michigan University
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Discography

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  • Joy to the World, Pt. 3 (2012)
    Pink Martini
    Joy to the World, Pt. 3 (2012)
    Heinz
  • 1969 (2011)
    Pink Martini
    1969 (2011)
    Heinz Records
  • Joy to the World (2010)
    Pink Martini
    Joy to the World (2010)
    Heinz Records
  • Splendor in the Grass (2009)
    Pink Martini
    Splendor in the Grass (2009)
    Naïve
  • Hey Eugene! (2007)
    Pink Martini
    Hey Eugene! (2007)
    Wrasse
  • Hang on Little Tomato (2004)
    Pink Martini
    Hang on Little Tomato (2004)
    Wrasse
  • Sympathique [Bonus Track] (1997)
    Pink Martini
    Sympathique [Bonus Track] (1997)
    Heinz Music
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