Courtesy photo.
Pink Martini brings its signature style to a festive evening of seasonal celebration
SUMMARY
- Tue, Dec 17 | 7:30 p.m. | The Arlington Theatre
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- 30th Anniversary Tour
- Holiday Show
- Back for the holidays by popular demand
- A festive show featuring a dozen musicians and seasonal songs in 25 languages
- Pink Martini has sold over 3 million albums worldwide
- Named to the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame
- Singer China Forbes released a new solo album, The Road, in May 2024
- $47 – $132 / $24.50 UCSB students (Current student ID required)
- Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu or (805) 893-3535; and www.AXS.com / The Arlington Theatre at (805) 963-9580
“Multilingual and defiantly cosmopolitan, Pink Martini have vacuumed up songs from Turkey, Japan, Romania and beyond, using lush string and horn arrangements that hark back to the days before rock’n’roll.” The Sunday Times
“Pink Martini’s live show conjures a fantasy of ageless glamor. This is formal play, baroque and zany, ritzy but also childlike.” JazzTimes
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Portland’s “little orchestra” Pink Martini featuring China Forbes performing a joyful Holiday Show on Tuesday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m. at The Arlington Theatre. Pink Martini brings its signature blend of jazz, classical and pop music. With a dozen musicians and songs in more than a dozen languages, “this multi-denominational, multicultural jubilee overflows with enough holiday spirit to warm your entire family” (NPR). Performing classics like “White Christmas” alongside Chinese New Year tunes and a samba-inspired version of “Auld Lang Syne,” as well as fan favorites from the band’s 11 studio albums, this joyous, globetrotting concert is sure to make you merry.
Una notte a Napoli – Pink Martini ft. China Forbes | Live from Pink Martini World HQ
ABOUT PINK MARTINI FEATURING CHINA FORBES
In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, with the intention of eventually running for office. Like other eager politicians-in-training, he went to every political fundraiser under the sun… but was dismayed to find the music at these events underwhelming, lackluster, loud and un-neighborly. Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop – and hoping to appeal to conservatives and liberals alike, he founded the “little orchestra” Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, cleaning up the Willamette River, funding for libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks.
One year later, Lauderdale called China Forbes, a Harvard classmate who was living in New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together. Their first song – “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler)” – became an overnight sensation in France, was nominated for Song of the Year at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards and to this day, remains a mantra (“Je ne veux pas travailler” or “I don’t want to work”) for striking French workers. Says Lauderdale, “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, 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.”
Featuring a dozen musicians with songs in 25 languages, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America and North America. Pink Martini made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden. Since then, the band has gone on to play with more than 70 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House and the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London.
Other major appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year’s Eve 2003, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2018; sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in New York City; the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 100th anniversary party in 2018; the Governor’s Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; three sold out shows with the Sydney Symphony at the renowned Sydney Opera House; sold-out concerts at Royal Albert Hall in London in 2011, 2013 and 2016, multiple sold-out appearances and a festival opening at the Montreal Jazz Festival, two sold-out concerts at Paris’ legendary L’Olympia Theatre in 2011 and 2016; and Paris’ fashion house Lanvin’s 10-year anniversary celebration for designer Alber Elbaz in 2012. In 2014, Pink Martini was inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.
Television appearances include The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Later with Jools Holland and a feature on CBS Sunday Morning. The band created a nationally broadcast 2015 NPR holiday concert special, Joy to the World: A Holiday Spectacular, and has been featured on multiple New Year’s Eve broadcasts on NPR’s Toast of the Nation.
Pink Martini has sold over 3 million albums worldwide on their own independent label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog). The band’s debut album Sympathique was released in 1997 and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist” in France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards in 2000. Pink Martini released Hang On Little Tomato in 2004, Hey Eugene! in 2007 and Splendor In The Grass in 2009. In November 2010 the band released Joy To The World – a festive, multi-denominational holiday album featuring songs from around the globe. Joy To The World received glowing reviews and was carried in Starbucks stores during the 2010 and 2011 holiday seasons. All five albums have gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey.
The band has collaborated with numerous artists, including Phyllis Diller, Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Rita Moreno, Jane Powell, Rufus Wainwright, Japanese legends Saori Yuki and Hiroshi Wada, Henri Salvador, Chavela Vargas, New York performer Joey Arias, puppeteer Basil Twist, Georges Moustaki, Michael Feinstein, Charo, Doc Severinsen, filmmaker Gus Van Sant, Courtney Taylor Taylor of The Dandy Warhols, clarinetist and conductor Norman Leyden, Italian actress and songwriter Alba Clemente, DJ Johnny Dynell and Chi Chi Valenti, Faith Prince, Mamie Van Doren, the original cast of Sesame Street, the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Mariachi Aztlan of Pueblo High School in Tucson, Arizona; the Jefferson High School Gospel Choir; the Royal Blues of Grant High School; the Pacific Youth Choir of Portland, Oregon; and Karen Early (who played sleigh bells and crash cymbals on the band’s holiday album and the band’s collaborative album with Japanese singer Saori Yuki, respectively).
In 2016, Pink Martini released its ninth studio album, Je dis oui!, which features vocals from China Forbes, Storm Large, Ari Shapiro, fashion guru Ikram Goldman, civil rights activist Kathleen Saadat and Rufus Wainwright. The album’s 15 tracks span eight languages (French, Farsi, Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish, Xhosa and English), and affirm the band’s 23-year history of global inclusivity and collaborative spirit. In 2018, Pink Martini released a special 20th Anniversary Edition of its first album Sympathique, featuring the band’s iconic arrangement of Ravel’s “Bolero”, now in the public domain and finally reinstated on the album after a 20-year absence. In 2019, Thomas Lauderdale and members of Pink Martini collaborated on a new release with the international singing sensation Meow Meow. This album, Hotel Amour, features guest appearances by Rufus Wainwright, the von Trapps, Barry Humphries (of Dame Edna fame) and the inimitable late French pianist and composer, Michel Legrand.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Pink Martini featuring China Forbes: Holiday Show is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.
Major Sponsor: Audrey & Timothy O. Fisher
Event Sponsor: Ellen & Peter O. Johnson
Tickets are $47 – $132 / $24.50 UCSB students (Current student ID required)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu; and www.AXS.com /The Arlington Theatre, (805) 963-9580
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges 2024-2025 Season Sponsor Sara Miller McCune.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2024-2025 season.