Globetrotting band Pink Martini brings 'musical adventure,' multilingual repertoire to Mercyhurst

The numbers are an impressive part of the story for in-demand and world-traveling band Pink Martini.

A dozen musicians. Songs performed in 25 languages. Performances on six continents. More than 3 million albums sold worldwide.

The genre-crossing, U.S.-based Pink Martini, featuring vocalist China Forbes, brings it multilingual repertoire to Mercyhurst University on Saturday to cap the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture's 25th anniversary gala celebration of the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center. The show begins at 7 p.m. at 501 E. 38th St.

The much-lauded band made its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 and has played with more than 70 orchestras around the world since its founding in Portland, Oregon, by bandleader and pianist Thomas Lauderdale in 1994, according to a news release provided by Pink Martini.

Lauderdale said he drew inspiration from music from all over the world, including classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop, to create the “little orchestra” Pink Martini. His initial goal was to provide beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, climate change, funding for libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks, the news release stated.

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In describing the group, Lauderdale said: “Pink Martini is a rollicking around-the-world musical adventure. … If the United Nations had a house band in 1962, hopefully we’d be that band.”

“We’re very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America," Lauderdale said in the release, "… the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world … composed of people of every country, every language, every religion. Except for Native Americans, all of us are immigrants from every country, of every language, of every religion.”

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Pink Martini has displayed its universal appeal on stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, Greece, the Middle East, New Zealand, Northern Africa, South America, Turkey and North America.

The band has released 11 studio albums on its independent label Heinz Records — named after Lauderdale's dog — and has claimed multiple gold records in several countries, including France, Canada, Greece and Turkey. In 2011, they released "1969," an album of collaborations with Japanese singer Saori Yuki. The album was certified platinum in Japan and marked the first time a Japanese artist hit the American Billboard charts since 1963.

Forbes, an actress, singer and Harvard classmate of Lauderdale's, has been pivotal to the group's success, performing songs in more than 20 languages. She was recruited out of New York in 1995 to sing with Pink Martini and has since written many of the group's most beloved songs with Lauderdale, including "Clementine," "Lilly," "Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love," "Sympathique," "Over the Valley" and "A Snowglobe Christmas." The French hit, "Sympathique" ("Je ne veux pas travailler" which translates to "I don’t want to work" in English), was released in 1997 and remains a mantra for striking French workers.

In 2019, Pink Martini released two EPs featuring the group's newest members, singers Jimmie Herrod and Edna Vazquez. Both vocalists officially became part of the group with the release of Herrod’s "Tomorrow" and Vaquez’s "Besame Mucho," both of which were co-produced by Lauderdale and Forbes.

The group has played sold-out concerts everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the renowned Sydney Opera House in Australia and Royal Albert Hall in London to Paris’ legendary L’Olympia Theatre and places in between. In 2014, Pink Martini was inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.

The band also has made several late-night national TV talk show appearances and has been featured on "CBS Sunday Morning." Pink Martini has played on multiple New Year’s Eve broadcasts on NPR’s "Toast of the Nation."

Numerous artists have collaborated with Pink Martini, including Phyllis Diller, Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Rita Moreno, Jane Powell, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Feinstein, Charo, Doc Severinsen, filmmaker Gus Van Sant and many more.

Pink Martini also employs regular guest artists, including NPR’s Ari Shapiro, host of "All Things Considered"; Cantor Ida Rae Cahana; koto player Masumi Timson; harpist Maureen Love; and Kim Hastreiter, co-founder of Paper magazine.

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If you go ...

Tickets for Saturday's 7 p.m. performance range in price from $30 to $55 and can be purchased online at miac.universitytickets.com, by calling 814-824-3000, or in person at the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center box office at 501 E. 38th St. The box office is open Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 5 p.m. and 90 minutes before each ticketed event. Each order is subject to a $3 per ticket processing fee. Visit miac.mercyhurst.edu for information about current COVID-19 policies.

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This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Pink Martini, China Forbes bring 'musical adventure' to Mercyhurst