By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Pink Martini, an acclaimed ``little orchestra'' from Portland, Ore., will be playing in Seoul for the first time in March.
Self-described as a ``rollicking around-the-world musical adventure,'' Pink Martini will bring its eclectic style of retro music to its first concert in Seoul, March 13, Melon-AX Hall, eastern Seoul.
``If the United Nations had a house band in 1962, hopefully we'd be that band,'' said bandleader and pianist Thomas Lauderdale on the band's Web site.
Lauderdale was working in politics when he realized there was a dearth of good music at political events. Inspired by different genres of music from classical, jazz and pop, he formed Pink Martini, a small orchestra band, in 1994 to provide a beautiful musical soundtrack for political events.
Searching for the band's lead singer, Lauderdale called up his friend China Forbes, who he met while they were both studying at Harvard. They started writing songs, and their first collaboration, ``Sympathique,'' became a hit in France. It even received a Song of the Year nomination, as well as a Best New Artist nomination for the band, at the Victoires de la Musique Awards in France in 2000.
The band soon moved on from playing political fundraisers in Portland to playing at the Cannes Film Festival.
Pink Martini is composed of 12 musicians and has a multilingual repertoire, with song lyrics in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese, among others. All of its members have studied different languages and musical genres from all over the world.
``At one moment, you feel like you're in the middle of a samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, and in the next moment, you're in a French music hall of the 1930s or a palazzo in Napoli. It's a bit like an urban musical travelogue. We're very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad … and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent, through our repertoire and our concerts, a broader, more inclusive America,'' Lauderdale said.
Pink Martini is also heavily influenced by the romantic Hollywood musicals from the 1940s and 50s, but with a more global view. The group writes its own music, as well as remakes old songs like Ernesto Lecuona's ``Andalucia'' and ``Kikuchiyo to Mohshimasu'' (My name is Kikuchiyo) by the Japanese group Hiroshi Wada & His Mahina Stars.
Pink Martini has released four albums ``Sympathique'' (1997), ``Hang on Little Tomato'' (2004), ``Hey Eugene!'' (2007) and ``Splendor in the Grass'' (2009). Throughout the years, the American band has performed with orchestras in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and North America.
Pink Martini's Seoul concert is expected to draw many couples who are looking for a romantic way to spend White Day, which falls on March 14.
Tickets are 99,000 won. Visit ticket.interpark.com (1544-1555) or call Private Curve at (02) 563-0595.