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Uptown Magazine - Winnipeg's Online Source for Arts, Entertainment & News

June 21, 2007


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2007-06-21

Music - musique - musica

Pink Martini escapes the American melting pot with multicultural sounds

Jen Zoratti

Portland, Ore., has spawned seminal indie rock acts such as The Shins, Viva Voce and The Decemberists - and the eclectic collective Pink Martini confirms just how awesome that city's scene really is.

But Pink Martini isn't a Portland rock band. Led by pianist/artistic director Thomas Lauderdale, the impressive 12-piece blends together a trans-global mix of jazz, lounge, Latin, Afro-Cuban, orchestral and classical music - with lyrics in English, French, Italian, Croatian, Spanish, Arabic and Japanese.

Drawing upon the cultural backgrounds and multi-lingual upbringings of its members, Pink Martini came up with an innovative catalogue of musical multiculturalism - a process Lauderdale says happened quite organically over the course of the band's career, which began in 1994.

"I think our sound comes from the diversity of the players," he says. "We have people who are into Afro-Cuban, jazz, orchestra, and we also have people who come from multicultural families and who grew up speaking many different languages.

"Sometimes life is just better in French, or Spanish," he continues with a laugh. "It wasn't really ever a conscious decision. We never sat down and decided to make a multi-lingual repertoire."

One thing the ensemble did need to figure out was how to make its multi-culti mashup accessible. To that end, Pink Martini's latest outing, Hey Eugene!, has a catchy pop sensibility that 2004's breakthrough album Hang on Little Tomato didn't - but the record still has plenty of vintage Hollywood swagger courtesy of stunning chanteuse China Forbes. And the gang continues to make good use of its myriad influences.

"It's certainly a poppier record," Lauderdale says. "I think it's skippier, but it's probably the most pop we'd ever get. It definitely was a goal to be a bit more upbeat and a bit more pop - but only slightly."

Though Lauderdale says the choice to incorporate several different styles, ethnicities and languages into his music wasn't a conscious decision, it has certainly proved to be a good one. Lauderdale says that Pink Martini is a different American offering to the world of music - and the world in general.

"For us, it's a chance to celebrate how multicultural North America is. We're all mutts in a sense, for lack of a better term," he says. "I think what we do as a band depicts that. We're a jamboree of folk, pop, world and jazz all in one. We represent America in a different way."

Pink Martini has certainly had the chance to represent, with tour dates in unlikely places such as Greece, Turkey, Lebanon and Taiwan - locales The Shins probably won't be tackling anytime soon.

"One happy result is that we get to travel to some very interesting places," Lauderdale says. "It's pretty unusual to an American band to perform in different languages - and I think it's something more bands should try because it opens up a lot of doors.

"It's a chance to be musical ambassadors. To get to go to Hong Kong and actually be able to sing in Mandarin is very exciting."

* * *
Six of the unsung
Our picks for the best surprises of the Jazz Fest
Compiled by John Kendle

The Jazz Winnipeg Festival has always provided an opportunity for local music fans to see and hear music of all types.

This year's event is no different. In addition to the big-name jazz acts headlining the festival's Performance Series - Joshua Redman, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Garrett, Fathead Newman, Dave Brubeck and Madeleine Peyroux - Winnipeg groovers will also have plenty of opportunity to get down to blues, soul, R&B, hip hop and world music as part of the festival's broad-based programming.

Including Portland's Pink Martini and U.K. soul man James Hunter (profiled elsewhere on these pages), the must-see acts at Jazz Fest 2007 are many:

In the New Groove Series, true music aficionados will be disappointed to miss the likes of Montreal's Champion and His G-Strings (the only good thing about this year's Juno Awards), Edmonton's Cadence Weapon (playing with Grand Analog, the new, rock-ish project from mood ruff's Odario), Toronto's Hylozoists and the fabulous Antibalas.

Carlos del Junco (a late replacement for John Lee Hooker Jr.), Guitar Shorty and Little Charlie & the Nightcats should also keep the Windsor hopping all week as the Blues Series boogies along.

While the blues acts, new groovers and concert shows grab most of the attention at the Jazz Festival, the Late-Nite Series is not to be overlooked. All the acts playing the Mondragòn, Exchange Events Centre, Oui Bistro, King's Head Pub and the Fairmont Lounge are well worth seeing.

Here are six of those performers who shouldn't fly under your radar:

Sophie Milman - Still in her early 20s, this Russian-born, Canadian-trained jazz vocalist is well on her way to becoming a true star in the jazz world, with plenty of pop crossover appeal. Catch her in an intimate venue so you'll be able to say, 'I saw her when."
Performing: June 22 and 23, 8 p.m., Exchange Event Centre.

Knappen Street All-Star Band - Featuring the outstanding clawhammer banjo talents of former Finjan member Daniel Koulack, this Winnipeg ensemble will startle with its original presentation of an old-tymey sound.
Performing: June 22, 9 p.m., Oui Bistro.

Cold Front - Never was an act more aptly named. Featuring Icelandic guitarist Björn Thoroddsen and two Winnipeg-based players, bassist Steve Kirby and trumpeter Richard Gillis, this far-flung trio has recorded two CDs and won best jazz song at the 2005 Icelandic Music Awards.
Performing: June 23, 9 p.m., Mondragòn; June 26, 8:30 p.m., Oui Bistro.

Dione Taylor - A pastor's daughter who grew up playing and singing gospel and sacred music, Taylor studied jazz in Ontario before getting her first big break by being selected for a prestigious worldwide program run by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Now she's a recording artist whose music encompasses soul, gospel, R&B and jazz.
Performing: June 26, 7:30 p.m., Exchange Events Centre; June 27, 10:30 p.m., Exchange Events Centre.

ODD - Sometimes called the ODD Jazz Group, this quartet will challenge and move its listeners with a high-risk, high-reward approach to playing everything from funk to bop to free jazz. In 2004 they won the Grand Prix at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and they now record for that city's Justin Time label.
Performing: June 26, noon, Old Market Square; June 26, 8 p.m., King's Head Pub.

Lullaby Baxter - A deceptive performer, Baxter writes seemingly simple, eccentric-but-keening songs that burrow their way into your consciousness. Two albums into her recording career, she's well on her way to building a substantial audience, one listener at a time.
Performing: June 27, noon, Old Market Square; June 27, 8:30 p.m., Oui Bistro; June 28, 8:30 p.m., Oui Bistro.

For a complete lineup and more info see www.jazzwinnipeg.com.

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