A Little Something Extra

I'm delighted to introduce guest blogger and Pink Martini super-fan, Jayne Glick. Jayne is a student at IUPUI at the Herron School of Art & Design, majoring in Visual Communication Design. Not only does she love being a part of the art and design world, she also enjoys having a connection to the music world. Playing violin since the age of six, she is currently studying with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra violinist, Raye Pankratz.  Right now she is focusing on honing her teaching skills and currently has one student. She has been a self proclaimed Pink Martini fan for about five years.

I first fell in love with the musical group Pink Martini when I was a sophomore in high school. I would spend a lot of time leafing through the CD collection of my small hometown public library. One day I came across an album with a bright blue background and a vintage picture of what I perceived was a dad holding up his child. The words “Pink Martini” and “Hang On Little Tomato” in nice type across at the top. I was intrigued. Usually each library visit, I would make myself pick out at least one album that I hadn’t heard of. And I’ll admit, like most of us, I usually picked out what I thought was a well designed cover, and hoped that the music was just as good. In this case (no pun intended) Pink Martini by far exceeded my expectations.

Pink Martini’s music, to me is somewhat unclassifiable and keeps developing with each new CD (there’s a Christmas album coming next month!). Their music is a mix of Jazz, Latin, and World music. It was easy to listen to and easy to tell others about, which I did (and obviously still do) often. Being highly involved with orchestra, choir, show choir and musicals in high school, I learned to appreciate all kinds of music. I loved the singing cello in “Song of The Black Swan,” and the vocals of the lovely singer/songwriter, China Forbes, in “Let’s Never Stop Falling In Love,” just to name a few. My favorite song from that album, "Hang on Little Tomato" is an analogy about getting through the hard times with the support that others can give. To me this song is simple but sincere and I played it often during my first year college.

Throughout the years, I would go through Pink Martini phases where I would listen to them, and then forget and come back to it again, but always there was a presence. When I heard they were coming to Indianapolis to play with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, I knew I had to go. Pink Martini is a large and talented group, so I can only imagine how they’ll sound with an absolutely amazing orchestra playing with them. So I encourage you to clear the date, November 22, at 7:30 pm and get some tickets. I promise, you will be pleasantly surprised!

If you're a Pink Martini fan, feel free to post your favorite tune in the comment section!