Nearly 77 minutes of Pink Martini fabulousness!
Featuring a kaleidoscope of favorites studded with
a bevy of unreleased gems, this album is a eyeopening
exploration of 15 exciting years in the life of
America s favorite little orchestra.

Widely considered to be the Barbra Streisand
of Japan, Saori Yuki released her debut album in
Japan in 1969 and went on to make over 30 albums
in her 42 years. Yuki discovered Pink Martini after
the band covered her song Taya Tan for their 2007
album Hey Eugene! Most recently, she sang a verse
of Silent Night in Japanese for the band s hit 2010
holiday album Joy To The World.
In honor of the year of her debut release, Saori Yuki
partnered with Pink Martini and producer Thomas
M. Lauderdale to create a loving tribute to the
music released in 1969. Featuring Japanese pop hits
alongside internationally recognized tunes like Jorge
Ben s Mas que nada and Puff the Magic Dragon,
1969 is a brilliant collaboration featuring Thomas M.
Lauderdale s magical arrangements, Pink Martini s
stellar musicianship, and Saori Yuki s soaring vocals.

While the cocktail lounge fad has seen more than a few musicians climb aboard as a career move, the members of Pink Martini are no bandwagon-riding aficionados. Fronted by pianist Thomas Lauderdale, Pink Martini is the real article--a band that approaches the music with unwavering seriousness yet never forgets the fun at the heart of it. Sympathique, the band's debut album reveals an incredibly diverse musical vocabulary on the part of frontman Lauderdale. And what singer China Forbes lacks in range and dynamics, she more than compensates for in attack, approach, and a clear understanding of the material. While most of the songs are upbeat, in the hands of Lauderdale and Forbes, "Qué será será," with its dark atmospherics should be rechristened "Qué será noir." --Wayne Pernu

The fourth studio album features the Dandy Warhols Courtney
Taylor-Taylor, NPR s Ari Shapiro, Emilio Delgado (famous as
Luis on Sesame Street), and legendary ranchera singer Chavela
Vargas, former lover of Frida Kahlo.

Traditional holiday favorites alongside gorgeous, lesser-known discoveries, all imbued with Pink Martini's signature little orchestra sound! Features an array of guests, including Japanese pop star Saori Yuki and NPR correspondent Ari Shapiro, backed by a fabulous gathering of Portland choirs.

This new CD features gorgeous 3-D packaging each layer of buildings will be a separate flap, giving the city four layers of die-cut depth. The digipak will be covered by a clear plastic panel, on which the album title will be printed, along with delicate white snowflakes that will appear to float in front of the city.

Somewhere between a 1930s Cuban dance orchestra, a classical chamber music ensemble, a Brazilian marching street band and Japanese film noir is the 12-piece Pink Martini.

Part language lesson, part Hollywood musical, the Portland, Oregon-based "little orchestra" was originally created in 1994 by Harvard-graduate Thomas M. Lauderdale to play at political fundraisers for progressive causes such as public broadcasting, clean water, libraries, civil rights and affordable housing. In the years following, Pink Martini has gone on to perform its multilingual repertoire on concert stages, in smoky clubs and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Greece, Turkey, Taiwan, Lebanon and the U.S.

Hang On Little Tomato, Pink Martini’s much-anticipated second album, features a collection of original songs written by the band and its extended family as well as a few undiscovered gems reinterpreted in high style. Drawing on themes articulated on Sympathique, Hang On Little Tomato is the result of the group’s diverse collaborations and inspirations. From an advertisement for Hunt’s Ketchup in a 1964 issue of Life magazine to a dance sequence in the 1950 Italian film Anna, Hang On Little Tomato includes songs in French, Italian, Japanese, Croatian, Spanish and English. "Una Notte a Napoli," for example, was written with Alba Clemente – an Italian stage and television star in the 1970s – and DJ Johnny Dynell of the legendary New York-based nightclub Jackie 60. In a reworking of the Japanese song "Kikuchiyo To Mohshimasu," Pink Martini collaborated with Hiroshi Wada, the slide guitarist whose group originally recorded and released the song in 40 years ago.

Originally released in 1997, Sympathique met with rave reviews worldwide, finding a place within the hearts of many and selling well over a half million copies. Building its legacy through unstoppable word of mouth, select high profile symphony dates, prominent placement in film and television and fashionable private appearances, Pink Martini has returned with their highly-anticipated follow up. Hang On Little Tomato is every bit the new album Pink Martini fans have been longing for. Lush string arrangements, soaring vocals and cosmopolitan rhythms unfurl from the brilliant international hemisphere that is Pink Martini.

"This ensemble from Portland, Oregon, wowed the fabulous on the Cannes party circuit ... but that accomplishment hardly addresses the beautiful and sophisticated music of Pink Martini ... breathtaking." -- THE NEW YORKER

"No matter how Pink Martini gets described, there's always an element being overlooked, a reliance on phrases such as lounge, cosmopolitan rumba, or neo-classical that only tells part of this rich story. Impressive at every musician's station, this ensemble produces music that's charming and elegant." -- VARIETY

Pink Martini--the genre-bending, best-selling, supremely talented, and raucously fun twelve-piece ensemble that the New Yorker calls simply "beautiful," sophisticated," and "breathtaking"--returns with Hey Eugene! a twelve-track sonic journey anchored by deft songwriting and a no-holds-barred dose of cabaret showmanship. "We're kind of like musical archaeologists, bringing melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create something that is modern," explains bandleader, artistic director, and founder Thomas Lauderdale.

Delivered with sultry grace by lead singer China Forbes, Hey Eugene! shines throughout--from the golden-era Hollywood melody of "Everywhere" to the French cabaret of "Ojala." Other collaborations anchor the set as well: the pan-world "Dosvedanya, Mio Bombino" with its Latin-meets-Russian beat and globetrotting subject matter, plus the Forbes-Lauderdale-penned sexy sway of "City of Night." Peruvian percussionist Martin Zarzar debuts the romantically complex "Mar Desconocido" and bassist Phil Baker adds the quiet beauty of "Cante e Dance." The group also mines the past for hidden gems, including the Japanese-language track "Taya Tan" and their first-ever recording in Arabic, "Bukra wba'do." Meanwhile, clever lyricism leads to an empowering dose of pop perfection on the title track by Forbes (about a boy she met at a party who asked for her number and never called). Finally, jazz legend Jimmy Scott makes a stunning vocal guest appearance in a duet with Forbes on the closing song "Tea for Two."

With Hey Eugene! Pink Martini has returned with an exhilarating album full of uncompromising musicianship, hope, beauty, and joy!