Pink Martini -- Exclusive interview
With the sun shining its warm rays over the opening day of the Québec Sumer Festival, we had the pleasure of sitting down with the founder, arranger and artistic director of Pink Martini, Mr. Thomas Lauderdale.
Pink Martini’s music is both universal and multi-cultural by offering an eclectic basic mix of jazz, bossa nova, classical with an exotic and sensual sonic backdrop. About the ''little orchestra'', Thomas Lauderdale says it ''brings melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create something which is new and beautiful''.
ABOUT THE BAND…
Pink Martini was put together in 1994 in Portland, Oregon. Thomas Lauderdale and lead vocalist China Forbes first met at Harvard University and quickly became friends. Raised in a liberal and progressive family, Thomas studied history and literature, in addition to being a classically-trained pianist, while China studied painting, English literature and theatre. Since both lived in the same dormitory, they would meet during the night; China would sing Verdi and Puccini arias while Thomas accompanied her on piano.
As opposed to many groups, whose names can be traced to strange or colorful origins, Thomas Lauderdale candidly admits the name Pink Martini came to him one night while he was enjoying “quite a few drinks”.
After graduating from Harvard, Thomas left Boston had rejoined his family in Portland while China moved to New York. Both stayed in touch and when Thomas decided to put a group together, it only seemed natural for him to recruit his college friend as a vocalist. The beginnings were not easy, as China was still living in New York, so she had to travel between the Big Apple and Portland every week to play with her new band.
Then, Lauderdale started recruiting other members, most of whom were college graduates or had previous experience in symphony orchestras, and the group grew from 4 to 12 members. Everyone in the group has traveled extensively and had been in contact with different cultures and musical styles, making Pink Martini a real multi-cultural group. Thomas is quick to add that the core of 12 musicians has been together for the past 10 years.
Originally, the group started playing political fundraisers for progressive causes, such as the environment, civil rights, affordable housing and public television. Thomas Lauderdale admits he has always been socially involved in such causes from a very young age, due to his family background.
Pink Martini started playing all over Europe as well as in Turkey, Lebanon, Japan, Taiwan and the United States. Ironically, it was the French public that embraced the group before the United States ever did. In 2006, ''Sympathique'', the group’s first album was released on an independent label. Whether intended or not, the cover of the album featured the Eiffel Tower –perhaps a nudge to the country that first adopted them- and their song ''Je ne veux pas travailler'' (“I don’t want to work”) became a huge hit in France.
Thomas and the rest of his bandmates’ influences are extremely diversified. By his own admission, he draws his inspiration from 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, Argentinean tango, Brazilian samba and bossa nova, Italian folk, Greek rembetiko, Middle Eastern music, and Asian music. The songs, often inspired from trips abroad, blend themselves quite well with renditions of classics that evoke sadness or joy. Lauderdale also loves to incorporate excerpts from classical pieces or musicals.
Their set is basically the same wherever they play, including during their stop in Québec. As the opening act to kick off the Summer Festival, Pink Martini had 70 minutes to warm up the crowd, which they did brilliantly.
Over the years, Pink Martini has also contributed to to several original soundtracks, including Tortilla Soup (2001) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) in addition to musical contributions to HBO’s highly popular series The Sopranos.
A NEW ALBUM
A new album, temporarily titled « Splendor in the Grass », should be released next October, as a follow-up to 2007’s « Hey, Eugene! ». Meanwhile, vocalist China Forbes took some time to release two solo albums, including one in 2008, which features songs that have more light rock and folk overtones. In May, the group also released its first live DVD. Titled « Discover the World – Live in Concert », the DVD features the group in concert in its hometown of Portland.
THE QUÉBEC CROWDS
Despite his status as an international star, Thomas Lauderdale remains a very accessible, friendly and down-to-earth man. He believes that “it's important to be a citizen of the world as opposed to being a citizen of one particular country. Part of that means studying other people's languages.".
This concert represents the second time Pink Martini sets foot on Québec soil. The group first came to Montreal as guests of that city’s International Jazz Festival in 2008. Thomas, who incidentally expresses himself with ease in French, says that Québecers are really fun, friendly, very respectful and who love to sing along.
Texte : Nadine Brillant
