Anchorage and Kodiak, Bucharest and Budapest, Zabrze and Berlin \u2014 the fall concert schedule of \u201clittle orchestra\u201d Pink Martini reads like a world traveler\u2019s fantasy itinerary.<\/p>\n
Having performed on every continent except Antarctica over the past 20 years, the 12-piece ensemble will appear on Juneau\u2019s Centennial Hall stage Sunday, hosted by Juneau Jazz & Classics.<\/p>\n
Audience members will be taken on an around-the-world tour of a different kind during Sunday\u2019s show; the band\u2019s repertoire includes songs in more than a dozen languages including Turkish, Arabic, Portuguese, Greek and Japanese, sung by lead singers China Forbes and Storm Large, who collaborate with native speakers to learn the lyrics.<\/p>\n
Back in 1994, when band leader Thomas Lauderdale pulled the first iteration of Pink Martini together in Portland, Oregon, such cosmopolitan dreams were as distant as Romania\u2019s capital city. Though a classical pianist, Lauderdale was at that point more involved in politics than in the performing arts; he formed the group to provide more inclusive and interesting entertainment for the fundraising events he frequently attended. For the first few years, the band didn\u2019t play beyond the Oregon border.<\/p>\n
International recognition came \u201cout of left field\u201d following the release of the song \u201cSympathique (Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler),\u201d the first collaboration between Lauderdale and Forbes, former classmates at Harvard. Sung in French by Forbes, \u201cSympathique\u201d caught the ears of the French in 1997, eventually garnering Song of the Year and Best New Artist nominations in France\u2019s Victoires de la Musique Awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were totally surprised,\u201d Lauderdale said of the song\u2019s success during a phone interview this week. \u201cIf we had had any expectations for it whatsoever it never would have worked. … I guess without (that song) we probably wouldn\u2019t be here today. It just caught on, and suddenly we had a career in Europe before we had one in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pink Martini\u2019s popularity at home wasn\u2019t far behind, boosted by its collaborations with symphony orchestras across the Pacific Northwest beginning in 1998, and by supportive radio stations including NPR. They\u2019ve since played with more than 50 orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Pops and the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center.<\/p>\n
Though his band\u2019s fame might not have been in Lauderdale\u2019s plans, other aspects of Pink Martini have remained constant from the beginning. One is the eclectic nature of the music, an unusual combination of genres (classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop) and influences (tango, salsa, cabaret and swing).<\/p>\n
Another constant is Lauderdale\u2019s underlying interest in bringing people together, reflected in the band\u2019s size, diverse audience and focus on collaboration. The band\u2019s eight studio albums feature a range of interesting guest performers, such as Japanese pop star Saori Yuki, and more recently the great-grandchildren of Baron and Maria von Trapp from \u201cThe Sound of Music.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c(We\u2019ve been) able to work with people who are our heroes, whether its the MGM actress Jane Powell, or Carol Channing, Rufus Wainwright, or, recently, the von Trapps, or Rita Moreno, who was with us a couple weeks ago,\u201d Lauderdale said. \u201cThat\u2019s just great fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band also stays true to its roots in its support of causes members feel are important, such as affordable housing, libraries and music education in public schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we definitely have a opportunity to give voice to causes we believe in,\u201d Lauderdale said, adding that he is still personally interested in politics.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s unlikely he\u2019s going to leave music for the political arena any time soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tempestuous world right now, any number of things could happen…\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s probably safer just to travel the world and make people happy (with music).\u201d<\/p>\n
Pink Martini is one of the bigger acts to come through Juneau in recent years. Juneau Jazz & Classics\u2019 artistic director Linda Rosenthal said she\u2019s been trying to get the band to town for years, partially in response to repeated requests written on audience comment cards at Juneau Jazz & Classics events.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have great suggestions,\u201d she said. \u201cPink Martini, they are basically out of reach financially, but like with Taj Mahal or Arlo Guthrie, when they\u2019re doing a statewide tour, I jump on board. I\u2019ve been writing to them saying \u2018When are you coming?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Pink Martini previously played a sold-out show in Anchorage in 2012 but this is the band\u2019s first time in Juneau.<\/p>\n
Pink Martini will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20 at Centennial Hall. The concert is a benefit for the upcoming 30th annual Juneau Jazz & Classics Festival from May 6-21. Ticket prices are $45 for general admission and $35 for students. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase to guests 21 and older.<\/p>\n
Find out more by visiting Juneau Jazz & Classics at jazzandclassics.org\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Anchorage and Kodiak, Bucharest and Budapest, Zabrze and Berlin \u2014 the fall concert schedule of \u201clittle orchestra\u201d Pink Martini reads like a world traveler\u2019s fantasy itinerary. Having performed on every continent except Antarctica over the past 20 years, the 12-piece ensemble will appear on Juneau\u2019s Centennial Hall stage Sunday, hosted by Juneau Jazz & Classics. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":34484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[74],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-34483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","tag-arts-and-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34483"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=34483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}