submitted by Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center
Audience favorite Pink Martini and longtime lead singer China Forbes brought their infectious, eclectic sounds back to the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center in December.
With vintage jazz, classical and old-fashioned pop vibes — and cultivating inspiration from musical genres from all over the world — Pink Martini created a unique sound strictly their own.
The 12-member orchestral ensemble, bandleader/pianist Thomas Lauderdale and Forbes took the audience on a musical trip around the world Dec. 14, from a samba parade in Rio to a French nightclub.
Thomas Lauderdale founded Pink Martini in 1994 to provide beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for such causes as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks. A year later, he asked his former Harvard classmate, singer Forbes, to join the ensemble.
They began to write songs together, and their first song, Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler), became an overnight sensation in France and to this day remains a mantra (“Je ne veux pas travailler” means “I don’t want to work”) for striking French workers.
With a repertoire that includes songs in 25 languages, Pink Martini performs on concert stages on six continents. Pink Martini has released 11 studio albums on its own independent label, Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog), selling over 3 million albums worldwide.
The Jim & Linda Lee Performing
Arts Center ticket office is on Yavapai College’s Prescott Campus, 1100 E. Sheldon St. and open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; and one hour prior to performances. For reservations or more information, call: 928.776.2000 or visit:
www.ycpac.com.
