12-Member Pink Martini Want to Unite Beijing (and the World) With Music
The US may be more divided politically now than at any time since the 1950s, but a band of multinational, multicultural musicians currently on their way to Beijing hope to unite people of all beliefs in one big conga line.
Pink Martini bring their unique brand of eclectic loungecore to the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center on Oct 26, but they started out as the house band for political fundraisers in Portland, Oregon. Founder Thomas Lauderdale considered the music played at these events boring, and so put together his own group to offer an alternative, fusing Latin, classical, jazz, and classic pop, to, in his own words, "bring a little bit of Breakfast at Tiffany’s." But it was in 1995, when his former Harvard classmate China Forbes added her sultry vocals to the mix, that Pink Martini really took off.
Since then, they’ve recorded nine albums, toured the world, appeared on TV shows such as The Late Show with David Letterman, and contributed songs to the soundtracks of The Sopranos, The West Wing, and Sherlock. Pink Martini are proud of their diversity; their dozen members come from a range of different backgrounds, and their repertoire includes songs in 25 different languages, from Armenian to Japanese.
Despite their background in progressive politics, Lauderdale is keen to emphasize that their music is for everyone, regardless of their beliefs. “Because there’s so much divisiveness everywhere we look,” he says, “the band should be a place of refuge where people who have different opinions politically can actually be in the same room and sit together and hopefully be a part of the conga line together at the end of the night.”
Tickets cost from RMB 99 to RMB 680, and are available from here. But hurry – on this tour they’ve already sold out Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Sydney Opera House, so book quickly if you want to join the conga.
Never miss a gig: click here for a huge list of live shows in the city, updated daily.
Photos courtesy of Pink Martini
