Juneauites turned out by the hundreds for Portland-based band Pink Martini’s performance Sunday evening at Centennial Hall, an event hosted by Juneau Jazz & Classics. Lead singer Storm Large performed in multiple languages, including Spanish, Turkish and Croatian, backed by band leader Thomas Lauderdale on piano and 10 more musicians.
Highlights from the evening included a spontaneous guest performance by local pianist Judy Mitchell, who bravely responded to Lauderdale’s call for a pianist familiar with Schubert’s “Fantasy for Piano for Four Hands,” which she then played alongside Lauderdale, and a conga line that snaked around the hall during the band’s last number, “Brazil.”
The sold-out show was a fundraiser for Juneau Jazz & Classics, which runs May 6-21. For more, visit http://www.jazzandclassics.org/
To read an Empire interview with Lauderdale, visit http://juneauempire.com/art/2015-09-18/pink-martini-play-juneau-sunday
Vocalist Storm Large performs with Pink Martini’s nine-member orchestra at Centennial Hall on Sunday evening. The sell-out event was a fundraiser for Juneau Jazz & Classics.
Thomas Lauderdale, leader and founder of Pink Martini, speaks to the sold out audience at the Centennial Hall on Sunday evening. Guitarist Dan Faehnle is in the background.
Judy Mitchell is invited to play piano with Pink Martini leader and founder Thomas Lauderdale during their concert at Centennial Hall on Sunday evening.
