Pink Martini – the 25th Anniversary Tour

This past Sunday, Pink Martini, the little orchestra that could, completely charmed the near-capacity crowd at the Berklee Performance Center. Celebrating their Silver Jubilee, Pink Martini has put together this 25th Anniversary Tour, which brought founder Thomas Lauderdale and lead vocalist China Forbes back to their old stomping grounds, where the two met nearly 30 years ago as students at Harvard. This 12-member orchestra treated an enthusiastic audience of fans to their signature vintage sound, with a mix of Latin, jazz, pop, and cabaret music, that calls to mind WWII-era lounge and nightclub acts or the romantic Hollywood films of the 1940s and '50s. Think muted trumpets, atmospheric vocals, and foreign languages. This was one show not to miss, with beguiling songs, mostly original, delivered with electrifying passion.

The dynamic two-hour show offered an eclectic 24-song set, more than half of which were in foreign languages. Lauderdale claims they have sung in 25 languages, and at least 10 of them were on display in this show, including English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Armenian, Indonesian, Romanian, and Italian. Phew! Lauderdale quips, "If the United Nations had a house band in 1962, we'd be it."

Pink Martini has released 11 studio albums, which Lauderdale used to comic effect, by coupling the introduction of each song with a shameless plug for the album that introduced the song, displaying the album cover on the piano, no less. Lauderdale appears a little awkward and nervous speaking at first, until his sly humor kicks in and then the showman comes out, with a dry quick wit reminiscent of a young Johnny Carson.

Given this is an anniversary tour, the set was filled mostly with songs familiar to the crowd, as evidenced by the cheers and applause greeting each one. Opening with "Let's Never Stop Falling in Love," from the album "Hang On Little Tomato," they set a tone of musical delight that never let up for the rest of the evening. One usually hopes that a group's live performance at least matches that of their recordings, but in Pink Martini's case, each song took on an added shimmer when performed live. Some of that has to do with Lauderdale's flamboyant piano playing style, with flying hands dramatically rising up and back down to the keyboards, in Liberace fashion. Showy as it may be, he still provides that delightfully sparkling sound that is the trademark of their band.

While Lauderdale's style adds luster, every member of this band pulls their weight and has time to shine. The horns, with Gavin Bondy on trumpet, and Antonis Andreou on trombone, were strident in the German gem "Ich Dich Liebe " ("I Love You"), and powerful on "Una Notte" (One Night") and the Pink Martini standard, "Lilly". Violinist Nicholas Crosa waxed romantic throughout but was fittingly moody and brooding in the Romanian "Pana Cand" ("Until"). But it was in the evening's only instrumental piece, "Flying Squirrel," where every member of the band took the spotlight one at a time, with the horns displaying incredible acumen, Miguel Bernal punishing the congas to exhilarating results, and drummer giving us an African-style treat with an elaborate solo using the soft mallets.

Guest and background vocalists had star turns in the spotlight as well. Band percussionist and backup vocalist, Timothy Nishimoto stepped up to the mic with "Congratulations," sung in Chinese, and "Zundoko Bushi" sung in Japanese, both with striking precision, and a remarkable amount of spicy hip-swiveling. Guest vocalist, Edna Vazquez, a Latin spitfire from Mexico, was simply astonishing on "Besame Mucho" and "Sola Soy" ("I am Alone") with her dark sultry looks and soaring vocals that would get her repeat appearances on "The Voice." And the young Jimmie Herrod raised the roof on his two covers of "Exodus" and "Tomorrow" (from the musical "Annie"), using his Billy Porter-like elastic vocals, and driving rhythms to bring surprising excitement to these otherwise overdone pieces. Remember their names; you will hear them again.

But the evening's top credit goes to Forbes, striking in a sleeveless shimmering silver-blue lame evening dress, whose singing, with her wide range, and powerful belt, was simply thrilling. Back in 2009-2010, Forbes was going hoarse during her songs, and even while speaking. She then learned she had a polyp on her vocal cords. Thanks to a brilliant surgeon in their home base of Portland, Oregon, and a period of vocal rest, Forbes' singing voice returned completely. In a 2015 interview with clevescene.com, Forbes affirmed, "The vocal cords healed perfectly with no scarring, and I'm actually singing much better than I did before the surgery. I've been taking voice lessons and working on things that I really wanted to work on with my voice."

The work has paid off, because Forbes has never sounded better. From the opening number "Let's Never Stop Falling In Love," to other familiar Pink Martini hits like "Amado Mio" and "Lilly," Forbes just built a dramatic arc, sometimes starting with a whisper then building to her dramatic belt, or in the case of "Amado Mio," just unleashing her powerful bel canto sound in the opening notes, to thunderous applause. In cabaret style, Forbes, a Cambridge, MA native, linked some of her songs to her personal life, dedicating "Sympathique" to her late dad, who took her to the Berklee Performance Center for her first concert as a child. Applying a French-styled vibrato here, she provided the vintage atmospheric sound Pink Martini is known for. She gave a shout out to her many cousins and siblings who were in the audience. She also dedicated her own composition, the romantic lullaby "Over the Valley," to her son Cameron, now 10, to whom she sang this song every night when putting him to bed when he was much younger (though she admitted he's loath to hear it now, because "he's too old"). Forbes got the audience out of their seats, and even onto the stage in pop hits "I am Woman," and "Nine to Five," both female empowerment numbers that seemed to epitomize Forbes' own philosophy. And she led the entire audience in a Conga line during their encore that made for an exhilarating close. Simply put, Forbes is a star. Though the very talented vocalist Storm Large filled in magnificently for the recovering Forbes for a few years (and still makes appearances with the band), it's great to have Forbes back. If Lauderdale is the soul of Pink Martini, Forbes is the heart.

Pink Martini appeared at the Berklee Performance Center on Saturday, October 26, and Sunday, October 27, 2019. For more information about Pink Martini, visit www.pinkmartini.com