Pink Martini May Shake Things Up... Cause A Stir

A big band with a soft sound and a whole lot of sass, Pink Martini plays The Paramount Oct. 29.

When you put 15 or so musicians up on a stage, including a healthy brass section, you’d expect they’re gonna make some noise.

Not so,says China Forbes, lead vocalist for Pink Martini, an ensemble with a sound and style of its own.

“Most bands are a wall of sound,” Forbes said in an interview with The Long Islander last week. Pink Martini, she said has a different dynamic. The band’s founder, and after 25 years, still its creative leader, pianist Thomas Lauderdale has a way of keeping an audience listening to nuance.

“Thomas is classical piano-trained. He tries to keep things quiet,” Forbes said.

The band is a breed of its own, to be sure. In fact Lauderdale got the whole project rolling because during his college days he went to too many political functions where the band was boring. He put together Pink Martini expressly to liven up those functions. It seems to have taken on a life of its own.

“It started as five, then eight, and now there are 15 of us on stage,” Forbes said. Her own entry came in its early years. She had known Lauderdale at Harvard where she was a drama, fine arts and English literature major. They hadn’t met but he saw her perform in a production of Evita.

“He came up to me dressed in Bermuda shorts a white shirt and bow tie and said, “You’re a singer, I’m a piano player. I would like to work with you. What would you like to sing?”

Her answer: “Puccini.”

They headed to the library, got some sheet music and started a tradition of playing late night concerts in the Common Room.

After graduation, she headed to New York City to become an actress and they lost touch. Until he looked her up one day in 1995, having just fired his singer.

She said no.

He persisted.

“He offered a lot of cash,” said Forbes.

It took some time but Forbes eventually made the commitment “when the band started doing well.” They started writing original songs (Lauderdale did primarily covers) and their first song, “Sympathetique,” was a smash hit in France and to this day, “Je ne veux pas travailler,” or “I dont want to work,” remains a mantra for striking French workers.

Pink Martini brings together an international roster of musicians. They bring their international sound to The Paramount Tuesday, Oct. 29. Tickets are $49.50-$99.50 at the box office, or visit Paramountny.com.

By Peter Sloggatt - psloggatt@longislandergroup.com