I spent New Year's with that incredible group called Pink Martini. I can’t think of a more enjoyable way to spend an evening. It's a group of usually twelve musicians (expanded here to twenty) from Portland, Oregon. Their eclectic music comes from around the world, written in French, Italian, Japanese, Croatian, Spanish, English, Portuguese, Arabic, or wherever they find material that appeals to them. The effervescent leader and pianist Thomas Lauderdale says “music should be like a wonderful dinner party” where you meet people you might never meet in a normal day. The music is romantic, breezy, hopeful, optimistic, sad, and rhythmic. In other words it is irresistible.
Whenever Pink Martini plays in Los Angeles, and they seem to make a yearly appearance, they sell out. They play the same music no matter what the venue, though Disney Hall is certainly the nicest. This merry group of musicians is led by the colorful Lauderdale, who plays the piano with gusto and excitement. Each of his musicians is extremely talented, and most of them sing as well, providing backups and solos, and each one can suggest a song for the group.
The group consists of violins, cello, sax, trumpet, harp, castanets, bongos, steel drums, drum kit, and various percussion instruments like maracas, triangles, etc. The lead singer is the marvelous China Forbes. She and Lauderdale met at Harvard and later formed the heart of the group. Forbes has a very versatile voice and is adept at singing in various languages. Her voice is both haunting and soothing. She sings most of the group's biggest hits. She is, at the moment, pregnant and on the verge of giving birth, yet she still managed to move about with grace and sway her hips with the best.
Two members of the group who stood out in this concert were trumpet player Gavin Bondy and violinist Nicolas Crosa. Bondy played magnificently, excelling in every number. Crosa was given a solo written by virtuoso violinist Fritz Kreisler. He brought down the house.
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