Post #153785 by vintagegirl on Tue, Apr 19, 2005 1:30 PM

I also saw Pink Martini a couple of years ago at the Hollywood Bowl (a double bill with Sergio Mendes). I believe it does require a certain caliber musician to perform successfully with a full orchestra. (Although I've seen them on their own too.) And while I was somewhat lukewarm to the singer previously (and perhaps expected something more Mancini-esque), that night I was blown away by the entire sound. They were flawless, especially their pianist who essentially just kicked butt that night. In fact, although Sergio Mendes was also performing, I saw many people leaving after PM was finished. (We, of course, stayed for Sergio Mendes.)

While PM may not fit into the cookie cutter mold of current lounge bands, I think that's exactly why I like them. When a musical genre becomes too much of a formula I am often attracted to those that start to go a little outside of the boundries. And in fact, latin influenced music (while different from Tiki/Hawaiian music) was hugely popular in the 40s and 50s (Xavier Cugat, Carmen Miranda, Desi Arnaz, Tito Puente). I don't see many other bands today utilizing those influences quite as well. (PM's pianist could easily have worked for Cugat.)

I also strongly agree with BigBro about the general caliber of musicians then versus now. In other words, yeah, what he said.