Through performances that range from grand European concert halls to intimate community outreach performances in hometown Portland, the band Pink Martini has cultivated a diverse, transcontinental following. The 12-piece ensemble’s music is cosmopolitan, contagious and often difficult to categorize: the group suggests its style lies somewhere between a 1930s Cuban dance orchestra, a classical chamber music ensemble, a Brazilian marching street band and Japanese film noir.
In a premiere one-hour television special, Pink Martini shares the stage at Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with the Harvey Rosencrantz orchestra and featured guest artists. The program features the band’s signature melodies interspersed with candid interviews and offstage antics. Founding member and band leader Thomas Lauderdale considers Pink Martini “musical archaeologists bringing melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world to create something that is modern.” He says that the multitalented and multilingual band offers “an urban musical travelogue … demonstrating that Americans are indeed serious about engaging in a dialogue with the rest of the world.”