Vancouver International Jazz Festival: Crowd Laps Up Pink Martini

Pink Martini is a band out of Portland, Oregon—a Liberal city dubbed "Little Beirut" for it's regular anti-Republican demonstrations. A vociferous town requires citizens that are responsible for how they communicate, and Pink Martini has communication down to an art.

Thomas Lauderdale, the dynamic founder of the 'little orchestra' aptly describes the members of his group to be "musical archaeologists, bringing melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create something which is modern."

Taking to the Orpheum's beautiful stage, Pink Martini started into a rendition of "Bolero"—an intelligent first choice, as the piece built the anticipation for what was to come. The group changed gears quickly, bringing primary vocalist China Forbes to the stage for "Tempo Perdido"—a song that transported listeners to humid Latin nights of an imagined past.

While Lauderdale's (Harvard-certified) musical knowledge and undeniable skill portrayed him as an excellent bandleader, it was Forbes' femininity and vocal flexibility that took Pink Martini the extra mile. The audience couldn't help but be drawn in as her magnetizing presence transformed emotions upon command.

The band's attention to posture reflected each members formal training and dedication to the craft. As the evening rolled on, Pink Martini continued to showcase this dedication by exploring different languages, genres, and emotions. The band sang in seven languages (including Arabic and Japanese) and their melodies formed an ever-shifting cultural tapestry.

Personal favourites included "Sympathique", "Hang On Little Tomato", "Amado Mio", and the beautiful "Praeludium and Allegro" (which resulted in a standing ovation for Nicholas Crosa's violin work). While Pink Martini's contemporary-jazz pieces are often humorous, I found the quality of these tunes to be weak when compared to the rest of their set. I did, however, appreciate their comedic value, as it was nice to be among the laughter that followed songs like "Hey, Eugene". It's interesting to note that Forbes draws quite a bit of inspiration from boys she meets at parties!

Before revealing the final song of the encore, Lauderdale asked that a Congo-line be formed—a gutsy request to make of a Vancouver crowd in the Orpheum! "Brazil" was a fun song to close the night on, and though the Conga-line was only partially successful, smiles beamed long after Pink Martini had left the stage.

Pink Martini was a part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival played a near-capacity show at The Orpheum Theatre on June 21, 2008. You can purchase their album from their website or at Amazon.ca.

Photographs are © Ami Sanyal. Please contact before using images for any purposes.