Pink Martini has twelve instrumentalists (and sometimes travels with string sections), and performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia and New Zealand 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 over 30 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 and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. Other appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year’s Eve 2003, 2004 & 2008; two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in NYC; the Governor’s Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; and the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia.
Lauderdale met China Forbes, Pink Martini’s lead vocalist, at Harvard. He was studying history and literature while she was studying English literature and painting. Late at night, they would break into the lower common room in their college dormitory and sing arias by Puccini and Verdi – and the occasional campy Barbra Streisand cover –thus sealing their creative collaboration. Three years after graduating, Lauderdale called Forbes who was living in New York City, where she’d been writing songs and playing guitar in her own folk-rock project, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together for the band. Their first song “Sympathique”– with the chorus “Je ne veux pas travailler” (”I don’t want to work”) – became an overnight sensation in France, and was even nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards. Forbes, though fluent only in English, sings in 15 different languages.
Pink Martini’s debut album Sympathique was released independently in 1997 on the band’s own label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog), 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.
In October 2004, the group released its second album, Hang on Little Tomato.
In May 2007, it released its third album, Hey Eugene!.
A fourth studio album, Splendor in the Grass, followed on October 27, 2009.
Sympathique, Hang on Little Tomato and Hey Eugene! have all gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey; collectively, Pink Martini's records have sold more than two million copies worldwide.
On New Year's Eve 2005, Pink Martini performed live at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. This performance was aired live on National Public Radio's Toast of the Nation, and in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting was recorded for a live DVD and later broadcast on US public broadcasting and French television.[citation needed] The DVD has been rereleased to retail as Discover the World: Live in Concert, featuring not only the full concert, but several vignettes and a short documentary of the band's history.
The band has collaborated and performed with Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Henri Salvador, Jane Powell, Chavela Vargas, Georges Moustaki, Michael Feinstein, DJ Dimitri from Paris, clarinetist and conductor Norman Leyden, Hiroshi Wada, DJ Johnny Dynell and several drag queens from New York City, among others. On June 1, 2007, the band appeared on the long-running BBC Two Later with Jools Holland TV music program. On June 14, 2007, Pink Martini performed on Late Show with David Letterman, performing "Hey Eugene".
Pink Martini played Walt Disney Concert Hall on New Year's Eve for the first two years it was open (2003/4 and 2004/5). They returned to play NYE there again in 2008/9.
In May 2009, the band recorded three concerts with the Oregon Symphony under the direction of Carlos Kalmar for the band’s fifth album … a symphonic record which is slated for a 2011 release.
Pink Martini songs appear in such films as In the Cut, Nurse Betty, Josie and the Pussycats, Tortilla Soup, Shanghai Kiss, Mary and Max, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith and have been used on television shows such as Dead Like Me, The Sopranos and The West Wing, among others.[citation needed] Their song "Una notte a Napoli" is an integral part of the Italian movie Mine Vaganti (2010), by the Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Özpetek. The song "No Hay Problema" is included as background/setup music for Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 and was also used as the background/setup music for an early build of Windows Longhorn, now known as Windows Vista.[citation needed]
In February 2011, the group's lead singer, China Forbes, recorded a video greeting to the European Space Agency's Italian astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri, on board the International Space Station. The astronauts were preparing to oversee the docking of ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo vessel, Johannes Kepler, which took place at 17:08 CET on 24 February. The greeting was set to the sound track of Dosvedanya Mio Bombino - one of Pink Martini's signature songs - and was mixed with footage of the actual docking.
In November 2011, they played at the Balboa Theater with the Bonita Vista High School band, Club Blue.
Brazil
Pink Martini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We stood beneath an amber moon
And softly murmured someday soon
We kissed and clung together
Then tomorrow was another day
The morning found us miles away
With still a million things to say
And now when twilight dims the skies above
Recalling thrills of our love
There's one thing I am certain of
Return, I will, to old Brazil
Brazil, when stars were entertaining June
We stood beneath an amber moon
And softly murmured someday soon
We kissed and clung together
Then tomorrow was another day
The morning found us miles away
With still a million things to say
And now when twilight dims the skies above
Recalling thrills of our love
There's one thing I am certain of
Return, I will, to old Brazil
The lyrics of Pink Martini's song Brazil evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing for a past love and a place that holds special memories. The lyrics take us back to June, when stars were entertaining, and the singer stood under an amber moon with their lover. They share a moment of intimacy as they softly murmur about someday soon, and kiss and cling together. However, the morning after brings a new day and they find themselves miles away with a million things still left unsaid.
The song then takes us to the present, as the singer looks back on their memories of love and Brazil. Despite the passing of time and the fading of twilight, they are certain that they will return to old Brazil, the place where they experienced the thrills of their love.
The song's lyrics convey a deep sense of longing, nostalgia, and romanticism. The singer seems to have moved on from their relationship, but the memories of Brazil and their past love hold a special place in their heart. The song's slow, dreamy melody and the use of Portuguese lyrics adds to the romantic and exotic feel of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Brazil, when stars were entertaining June
The singer is reminiscing about a time in Brazil when the stars were beautiful and the month was June.
We stood beneath an amber moon
The singer and their lover stood under a beautiful, amber-colored moon.
And softly murmured someday soon
The singer and their lover whispered to each other about their plans for the future.
We kissed and clung together
The artist and their lover shared a sweet moment of intimacy.
Then tomorrow was another day
The following day brought new challenges and opportunities.
The morning found us miles away
The next morning, the singer and their lover found themselves far from the beautiful moment they shared the night before.
With still a million things to say
Despite their distance and the passing of time, the singer and their lover still had many things they wanted to tell each other.
And now when twilight dims the skies above
As the sun sets and the sky grows darker, the artist is reminded of their time in Brazil.
Recalling thrills of our love
The artist remembers all the exciting moments they shared with their lover in Brazil.
There's one thing I am certain of
Despite everything that has happened, there's one thing the artist is sure of.
Return, I will, to old Brazil
The singer promises to return to Brazil, the place where they shared such a special moment with their lover.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore
Written by: Ary Barroso
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tandavapinto5054
The BEST voice and the BEST version of all time. Congratulation. Beauty woman
@RevLev06
Her piano accompanist is amazing and puts the icing on the cake.
@EnginAtik
One singer no back vocals, single trombone and tons of confidence. Bravo!
@jesusmalgapo2424
AGT brought me here... and found one of Storm's amazing performance... singer, dancer, songwriter, etc. etc. thank you Storm.
@PinkMartiniOfficial
we're grateful to AGT for bringing new fans to both to Storm and our music. Welcome!
@larryreichert9890
Storm is absolutely amazing in any song she sings.what talent.beautiful I could listen all day to Brazil alone
@LloydPeacock
She (Storm) is beyond great..love her..
Bob and Lloyd Peacock, Vancouver, B.C. Canada.
@fewashburn
Storm Large is such a great performer for this song......very powerful!
@bmh2004
She has lots of energy!, she’s beautiful.
@jorbontabugsy
She is the soul of this group she feeling the music in all his body awesome woman