Montreal '07 Part 2 Pink Martini

Singer China Forbes did a take on an old Carmen Miranda samba.
Pink Martini just has fun
The Portland, Ore., band is a Montreal favourite. Pink Martini packs the house in this town – twice last night alone. The 13-member band opened with a cover of Ravel’s Bolero, with the instruments joining in one at a time – cello first, with light percussion, then flourishes of harp. When bandleader Thomas Lauderdale came on piano, the song went from classical to kitsch. But nobody minded.
Therein lies Pink Martini’s appeal. All night the group flipflopped between serious art and unpretentious fun, leaning more toward the latter. Also in the first half, singer China Forbes sang an old Carmen Miranda samba, Tempo Perdido, from 1934; a few Latin jazz ditties, including the 1950 classic Anna (El Negro Zumbon); and the mildly melodramatic Japanese pop ballad Taya Tan, from 1970.
Several originals maintained the variety and general lightheartedness. The cheeky Je ne veux pas travailler could be an Edith Piaf song. The cutesy Lilly was an ode to Forbes’s cat.
The pacing was eclectic. A swinging, big-band instrumental jam (in which several of the players – trumpet, trombone, drums, guitar – got a chance to shine) gave way to the lilting Italian love song Amado Mio. Again, the crowd loved every minute. So did Maureen, Luke, Claire and I.