Where’s China?
China Forbes, that is, longtime lead singer and key songwriter for Pink Martini.
That was the first question that popped into my head when the popular “little orchestra” from Portland (Ore.) took the stage Friday night at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.
In a venue-filling run scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Pink Martini performed with the Pacific Symphony and guest conductor Albert-George Schram for the orchestra’s first pops concerts of 2014. The last time these groups played together was four years ago.
So where was China? Between 2010 and 2011, Forbes took time off from the ensemble to recover from throat surgery. During that time, another vocalist – Storm Large, semi-finalist on CBS’ short-lived show Rock Star: Supernova – took her place and remained with the band when Forbes returned.
Forbes couldn’t make this trip, however, though bandleader Thomas Lauderdale offered little explanation why. Large took over microphone duties again, and she did a pretty respectable job, bringing a sultry bombshell quality that was missing from Pink Martini before.
She can deliver the goods and dance, too. After the group’s 11 instrumentalists plus more than 40 members of the PSO opened with an orchestral number, Large sang “Amado Mio,” from PM’s excellent 1997 debut, Sympathique. She shook her hips, arched her arms and infused her vocals with soul and a smokiness quite different from Forbes’ delicate, pristine approach.
Next, Large and the band performed the Cuban standard “Quizás, Quizás, Quizás,” known better to some American audiences as “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.” Large belted notes passionately, and the orchestra provided lush strings and horns.
For the most part, the symphony sounded nice, backing Pink Martini with a pleasant, if not polyphonic, wall of sound. On occasion, the orchestra seemed to function primarily for embellishment, as Lauderdale & Co. offered the real meat and potatoes of the show.
Large sang in Farsi for the song “Omide Zendegani” as the collected musicians plucked, caressed and blew Middle Eastern tones. Indeed, the tall, blond chanteuse with the word “lover” tattooed on her back demonstrated impressive lyrical facility with various languages.
She alternated between English and German in “Ich Dich Liebe,” crooned in Japanese for “Mayonaka No Bassa Nova (Midnight Bossa Nova)” and delivered convincing lovesickness in Romanian during “Pana Cand Nu Te Lubeam.”
Guest vocalists the von Trapps – yes, the great-grandchildren of Georg and Maria von Trapp, of “The Sound of Music” fame – hit the stage and provided truly beautiful harmonies. Sofi, Melanie, Amanda and August von Trapp sang in German with the orchestra and Pink Martini, then performed a cappella, after which the quartet delivered “Kuroneko No Tango (Black Cat’s Tango)” in Japanese, proving that Large wasn’t the only one on stage with linguistic abilities.
After the von Trapps, each Martini member turned in a jazzy solo. Trombonist Robert Taylor proved agile with both his instrument and later his voice, singing the wistful Chet Baker number “She Was Too Good to Me.”
There were other highlights: percussionist and vocalist Timothy Nishimoto singing the Japanese spy tune “Zundoko” and inviting his father onstage to sing along; everyone, including the von Trapps, chiming in during ABBA’s “Fernando,” performed in Swedish; the oldie but goodie “The Lady Is a Tramp”; and another sing-along favorite, “Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again.”
For the encore, the von Trapps revived the crowd-pleasing yodeling tune “The Lonely Goatherd” and Large urged people to stand and dance for the tropical big-band classic “Brazil.” The audience happily complied.
Though perhaps not as edgy as the Off Center Festival currently running at Segerstrom Center, Pink Martini still provided a satisfying evening of global tunes and conventional, non-threatening fun.
Contact the writer: rchang@ocregister.com
