Pink Martini’s 30th Anniversary

In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in local politics, attending every political fundraiser under the sun… but was dismayed to find the music at these events underwhelming and lackluster. Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop – and hoping to appeal to conservatives and liberals alike, he founded the “little orchestra” Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks.

One year later, Lauderdale called China Forbes, a Harvard classmate who was living in New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini as the lead singer, and collaborator. Their first song “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler)” became an overnight sensation in France, was nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards, and is still the band’s number one song. Says Lauderdale, “We’re very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America… the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world… composed of people of every country, every language, every religion.”

Featuring a dozen musicians, with songs in 25 languages, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages on six continents. After making it’s European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998, the band has gone on to play with more than 50 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, the San Francisco Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London. In 2014, Pink Martini was inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.

Pink Martini has released 11 studio albums on its own independent label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog), selling over 3 million albums worldwide. In 2019, the band released two EPs featuring the vocals of Pink Martini’s newest members Jimmie Herrod and Edna Vazquez. Both vocalist have toured with the band for the past year and are officially part of the group with the release of Herrod’s EP Tomorrow and Vaquez’s Besame Mucho, both of which were co-produced by Thomas Lauderdale and China Forbes. In 2024 the band is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Active in Oregon politics since college, Thomas Lauderdale founded Pink Martini in 1994 to play political fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, the environment, affordable housing, and public broadcasting. In addition to his work with Pink Martini, he has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Oregon Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Chamber Music Northwest, and several collaborations with Oregon Ballet Theatre. Most recently, Thomas completed a decades-in-the-making album Thomas Lauderdale Meets the Pilgrims. He is back in the studio working on a collaboration with the iconic Iranian singer Googoosh.

Thomas currently serves on the boards of the Oregon Symphony, Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Oregon Historical Society, Confluence Project with Maya Lin and, the Derek Rieth Foundation. He lives in Portland with his partner, pianist Hunter Noack.

China Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated cum laude from Harvard, majoring in Visual Arts and English, with a minor in Theater. After graduation, China lived performed off Broadway, in New York regional theatre and as a singer/songwriter in NYC clubs.

China became the lead singer for Pink Martini in 1995 and has co-written many of the bands most beloved songs with Lauderdale, starting with “Sympathique”, and continuing to the most recent singles “Lemonade Song” and “Let’s Be Friends”. In May of 2024, China released The Road, her first solo album in 15 years, which feature all original songs including the single “Full Circle” and “Rise”, a deeply hopeful and personal song highlighting mental health challenges and suicide prevention.

She is the recipient of the 2022 Ella Fitzgerald Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival; previous winners include Diana Ross, Etta James, and Liza Minelli.

Ari Shapiro is an award-winning anchor of NPR’s All Things Considered, as well as a host of NPR’s daily afternoon news podcast, Consider This. He hosts the reality competition “The Mole” on Netflix. And as a singer, he has performed in some of the world’s most storied venues, from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl.

Shapiro also makes frequent appearances as a guest singer with the “little orchestra” Pink Martini. The band’s recent albums feature him on several tracks, singing in multiple languages.

Shapiro was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and grew up in Portland, Oregon. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale. He began his journalism career as an intern for NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg, who has also occasionally been known to sing in public. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his husband and two dogs.

Jimmie Herrod is an artist and performer who is based in Portland, Oregon. He holds a Bachelors of Music degree in music composition and performance from Cornish, and a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies from Portland State University. Recent performance highlights include being a featured soloist with the Oregon Symphony’s showcase in the 2018 TedX series, working with international acts such as ODESZA as well as being a regular guest vocalist with Pink Martini, touring throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. In 2018 Jimmie recorded “Exodus”, his first single with Pink Martini. In 2019 Jimmie Herrod released an EP with Pink Martini, entitled Tomorrow.

In spring of 2021, Jimmie was requested to audition for the current season of the hit NBC show America’s Got Talent, where he quickly became both a judge and fan favorite, winning a coveted Golden Ticket for his incredible vocal performance of Tomorrow.