Track Listing

1. Let�s Never Stop Falling in Love
2. Anna (el Negro Zumbon)
3. Hang On Little Tomato
4. The Gardens of Sampson and Beasley
5. Veronique
6. Dansez-Vous
7. Lilly
8. Autrefois
9. U Plavu Zoru
10. Clementine
11. Una Notte a Napoli
12. Kikuchiyo to Mohshimasu
13. Aspettami
14. Song Of The Black Swan

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4841 in Music
• Released on: 2005-01-31
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

This is 5 stars PLUS!
I found this album quite by chance ~ in fact I would say it was fate. After hearing a snippet on the radio but not catching or being able to find the name of the artiste/s, I consigned it to a sweet memory.

Then, looking for a different CD for my music-mad husband for Valentine's day, I was auditioning various CDs when my 9 year old daughter, attracted by the attractive and unusual cover, handed me 'Hang on Little Tomato' by Pink Martini.

The title alone plus of course the cool name of the group ensured a listen and ~ lo and behold ~ it was the music I had heard before but thought I would never hear again.

To cut a long story short, my husband had never heard of Pink Martini nor their music either, which was unusual enough in itself.
However, more importantly, he absolutely adored it, as do I and both my children (9 & 5 years). We play and sing along with it constantly ~ we also dance to it: how could anyone not?
We immediately booked tickets to see Pink Martini live, as part of their European tour, at the Barbican in March.

We are jazz devotees in this house but enjoy most music from the Kaiser Chiefs to Italian opera.
However, this is by far the best collection of music I can ever remember discovering.

There is the dreadful dilemma of wanting to share it with the world and yet, at the same time, wanting to keep it greedily to ourselves as a secret treat!

It is, quite simply, delicious!

Really charming summer listening
This is such a delightful, blithe album - bound to cheer up the most mournful commuter. China Forbes' seemingly effortless vocals glide over beautifully arranged songs with a diverse set of origins. Only her French intonation seems a little uncomfortable...
There isn't a duff track on this album but I especially loved The Gardens of Sampson and Beasley and the stately, unexpected Kikuchiyo to Mohshimaso. And if Una Notte a Napoli does not have you tapping your toes you must be dead.

Most fantastic album
Pink Martini should be known as the little orchestra that walks a fine line in its music. The Portland, Oregon, outfit is deeply influenced by Latin music, jazz, cabaret, cinema scores and a smattering of other styles. But rather than simply aping legendary artists in their prime - and fooling only a few dim bulbs in the process - band shakes things up by writing its own material, or at least creating tasteful new arrangements that fit within the band's unique post-lounge framework. The band keeps the playful musical vibe on Hang On Little Tomato, but jettisons what kitsch factor it had, choosing to focus wholly on original material or stuff that isn't recognizable to the average music fan. It's been a seven year wait for fans since the band's fun debut, Sympathique, and while the blush is now off the rose, the band's creative ambitions and talent are never better displayed than here on its second effort. - Tad Hendrickson

W
"Everyone's hankering for Pink Martini. Not the drink, the band...they really have a groove."

Album Description
Somewhere between a 1930s Cuban dance orchestra, a classical chamber music ensemble, a Brazilian marching street band and Japanese film noir is the 12-piece Pink Martini.
Part language lesson, part Hollywood musical, the Portland, Oregon-based "little orchestra" was originally created in 1994 by Harvard-graduate Thomas M. Lauderdale to play at political fundraisers for progressive causes such as public broadcasting, clean water, libraries, civil rights and affordable housing. In the years following, Pink Martini has gone on to perform its multilingual repertoire on concert stages, in smoky clubs and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Greece, Turkey, Taiwan, Lebanon and the U.S.

Hang On Little Tomato, Pink Martini's much-anticipated second album, features a collection of original songs written by the band and its extended family as well as a few undiscovered gems reinterpreted in high style. Drawing on themes articulated on Sympathique, Hang On Little Tomato is the result of the group's diverse collaborations and inspirations. From an advertisement for Hunt's Ketchup in a 1964 issue of Life magazine to a dance sequence in the 1950 Italian film Anna, Hang On Little Tomato includes songs in French, Italian, Japanese, Croatian, Spanish and English. "Una Notte a Napoli," for example, was written with Alba Clemente - an Italian stage and television star in the 1970s - and DJ Johnny Dynell of the legendary New York-based nightclub Jackie 60. In a reworking of the Japanese song "Kikuchiyo To Mohshimasu," Pink Martini collaborated with Hiroshi Wada, the slide guitarist whose group originally recorded and released the song in 40 years ago.

Originally released in 1997, Sympathique met with rave reviews worldwide, finding a place within the hearts of many and selling well over a half million copies. Building its legacy through unstoppable word of mouth, select high profile symphony dates, prominent placement in film and television and fashionable private appearances, Pink Martini has returned with their highly-anticipated follow up. Hang On Little Tomato is every bit the new album Pink Martini fans have been longing for. Lush string arrangements, soaring vocals and cosmopolitan rhythms unfurl from the brilliant international hemisphere that is Pink Martini.