Pink Martini Coming Back November 10th
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Portland’s “little orchestra” Pink Martini back by popular demand on Thursday, November 10 at 8 PM at the Arlington Theatre.
Tickets go on sale Friday, July 8 at 12 PM.
“Swiftly intoxicating and elegantly chilled” (Telegraph, UK), Pink Martini is a multilingual über-hip ensemble that is part romantic Hollywood film, part musical archeologist and part red-hot samba parade – wildly diverse yet magically intoxicating. Led by classically-trained pianist Thomas Lauderdale, the band’s 12 musicians will perform a rousing selection of music, including tracks from the recent release Splendor In The Grass, as they boldly attempt “to rebuild a culture that sings and dances.”
Pink Martini’s fourth studio album Splendor In The Grass encapsulates the band’s history and spirit of global collaboration and inclusivity. Comprised of nine original songs and four covers (with songs in English, Neapolitan, Italian, French and Spanish), Splendor In The Grass was recorded in the band’s hometown of Portland, Oregon and produced by bandleader/pianist Thomas Lauderdale and longtime collaborator and muse Alex Marashian. The album opens with the band’s first ever song in Neopolitan “Ninna nanna,” a stunning lullaby sung for a sleeping sailor who “dreams in the blue” written for the band by longtime friends Alba Clemente (actress of Italian stage and wife of the Italian painter Francesco Clemente who co-authored the band’s hit “Una Notte a Napoli”) and New York art dealer Massimo Audiello. From guitarist Dan Faehnle’s jazzy instrumental “Ohayoo Ohio (Hello Ohio),” to the charming chamber pop song “Sunday Table,” “this album is all about participating in the world… being part of it, being out in the street and finding moments of incredible breathtaking splendor in the activities and unfoldings of every day,” says Lauderdale.
Featuring 12 regular musicians, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia and New Zealand, South America and North America. Pink Martini made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden. Since then, the band has gone on to play with over 25 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Symphony and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. Other appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year’s Eve 2003, 2004 & 2008; two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in NYC; the Governor’s Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; and the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia.
Pink Martini’s debut album Sympathique was released independently in 1997 on the band’s own label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog), and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist” in France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards in 2000. Pink Martini released Hang On Little Tomato in 2004, Hey Eugene! in 2007 and Splendor In The Grass in 2009. In November 2010 the band released Joy To The World – a festive, multi-denominational holiday album featuring songs from around the globe. All five albums have gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey, and have sold well over 2 million copies worldwide.
Watch the official music video for Pink Martini’s song “Tuca Tuca” from their album Splendor In The Grass here http://youtu.be/g2a0wg9-JVI
Pink Martini is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. The event is sponsored by KCLU Public Radio http://www.kclu.org . Tickets are $55, $45 and $35 for the general public and $20 for UCSB students who must present a valid student ID. (An Arlington facility fee will be added to each ticket price.) http://www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.
