Pink Martini Puts a Party Touch on Soft Reopening of Jorgensen 11/6

Ah, the martini: classic, a little sassy and comfortable in any crowd and time. Add pink and you've got a real party.

So Pink Martini, the retro, worldly band with more musical influences than one continent can hold, will swing into Jorgensen on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m., to celebrate the renovated center's soft reopening. The 12-piece "little orchestra from Portland, Oregon," will perform songs from its four albums and a fifth new one, "Joy to the World," coming out on its Heinz label on Nov. 16. The group's Jorgensen appearance is part of a 12-city tour heralding the cross-cultural handling of holiday classics on the new CD that will enjoy Starbucks retailing.

This event offers a good chance for Jorgensen audiences to preview the new color scheme, carpets and apple green seats while enjoying the updated space and a specially created pink martini at the new lobby bars. The renovation has not only improved the theater's safety, comfort and accessibility but enhances its Art Deco-influenced design.

Pink Martini was founded in 1994 by classically trained pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale, who was discouraged by the monochromatic music performed at political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights and affordable housing. He soon added Harvard classmate China Forbes as lead singer for the group's blend of jazz, world music, cabaret and 1940s-1950s film music.

The band's influences range from Cole Porter and Duke Ellington to French chanteuse Edith Piaf and Latin kings Xavier Cugat and Tito Puente. Musical styles come from Afro-Cuban salsa, Argentinean tango, Brazilian samba and bossa nova, Italian folk, Greek rembetiko and Middle Eastern and Asian music. Their "diva next door" Forbes performs in a dozen languages, enhancing the band's global outlook. Lauderdale says, "I think it's important to be a citizen of the world as opposed to being a citizen of this particular country. Part of that means studying other people's languages."

Pink Martini has performed songs from its millions-selling albums with more than 25 orchestras, including the Boston Pops, San Francisco Symphony, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and on stages at Carnegie, the Hollywood Bowl and the Kennedy Center.
Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Regular tickets are $45, $38 and $34, with some discounts available. For tickets and information, call the Box Office at 860.486.4226, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., or order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Convenient free parking is available across the street in the North Garage.