Pink Martini serves up an eclectic cocktail of music and joy

For a group with an effervescent name like Pink Martini, you might not expect it to pack such a wallop.

But the self-described “little orchestra” has been wooing and wowing audiences for two decades with its intoxicating mix of classical, Latin and pop sounds. The group recently released its ninth studio album, another eclectic project with a slew of equally eclectic guest vocalists.

Bandleader and founder Thomas Lauderdale, who was in the world of Portland, Ore., politics before turning his career to music in 1994, said the multipiece touring orchestra’s unlikely success has been just as big a surprise to him as anyone.

“I never imagined that we would ever do this. I mean, I wanted to run for mayor – that’s what I wanted to do. The concept of having a band and being in a band, let alone running one, was one I could never have imagined,” he said. “With the direction of pop culture in this country, it seemed like such a preposterous thing. How on Earth could one support oneself playing this music with band of 12 people roaming across the country? But here we are.”

Pink Martini, featuring Lauderdale with lead singers China Forbes and Storm Large, brings its big sound to the Gallo Center for the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 29, for a holiday show. The group also will perform songs from its new album, “Je dis oui!” (I say yes!). The release features guest vocals from NPR “All Things Considered” host Ari Shapiro, fashion designer Ikram Goldman, civil rights activist Kathleen Saadat and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright.

Songs on the 15-track release also are sung in a variety of languages, including French, Farsi, Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish and English. Lauderdale said each piece in the project is personal, and could be read as a personal diary.

“One of the songs that is in Arabic, its lyrics are about a guy I met on a plane three years ago going from Paris to New York. We spent the entire plane ride talking. So I came up with the idea of working on an album with the Middle East in mind,” Lauderdale said. “If I hadn’t met him randomly on that plane, we wouldn’t have talked about it and I wouldn’t have written it, and then Ari Shapiro wouldn’t have recorded it. Things happen like that. There’s a situation like that for almost every song. It’s almost, in a sense, like a diary of my activity.”

Lauderdale said collaborations with the other vocalists follow similar personal paths. Saadat also worked in Portland politics in the 1990s and is working on a separate album with Lauderdale, as well. And fashion maven Goldman has been friends with Lauderdale and Forbes for years. Lauderdale said the philosophy of making the personal professional has helped inform their music and style.

“You must maximize as much happiness as you can out of every day. I try to integrate – work is fun and fun is work. It’s all the same. So in terms of selecting who does what, I follow my gut instinct,” he said.

As for their live shows, Lauderdale said the public can expect the same kind of joyful approach.

“It’s going to be crazy – conga lines, dancing on stage. We play material from all of our records. Hopefully it will be unbridled happiness,” he said. “That’s the hope, every time.”

This story was originally published November 23, 2016 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Pink Martini serves up an eclectic cocktail of music and joy."