China Forbes and Pink Martini return to the Fox with its eclectic array of tunes

Balancing a band and a solo career isn’t easy. What’s enabled singer-songwriter China Forbes to do so is that she allows her band, Pink Martini, to also tour with vocalist Storm Large.

“It’s an unusual arrangement but it works out for us,” Forbes said, calling from her Portland home. There is no other band that sounds like the eccentric and adventurous Pink Martini. So perhaps it figures that it’s fronted by two unselfish but dynamic and captivating vocalists.

The Portland-based band primarily renders an amalgam of jazz, pop and Latin. Pink Martini, which will perform Monday at the Fox, is quirky and unpredictable.

“What I love about being in this band is that it’s so different than any other group,” Forbes said.

However, Forbes’ solo material is unique as well. Forbes recently finished recording her third solo album, “The Road,” which will be released in May. It’s a personal album that is pro-aging and tackles such heavy issues as post-partum depression and suicide.

“It feels like an album that was made of lead and is 25 pounds,” Forbes cracked. “I look at the bizarre world we live in. It’s so sad when people who are so beautiful change their look so they can be so generic. There’s so much unnecessary surgery. I remember seeing it in high school when girls would get nose jobs.

“Look at what’s going on in Hollywood and in your neighborhood. There’s so much pressure for kids growing up.”

Forbes, 53, who has a 15-year-old son, emphasizes that it’s not just girls, who are bending to conformity.

“There’s a lot of pressure on boys to have the same haircut and clothes as everyone else,” Forbes said.

Forbes could just focus on her solo material, but she doesn’t want to leave Pink Martini behind.

“I can’t quit since, I helped build Pink Martini with (songwriter-keyboardist) Thomas (Lauderdale),” she said. “I was a big part of introducing original songs to the band. But it’s also more than music.

“I feel very connected to the Pink Martini family. It’s been an amazing adventure and I love performing our songs live.”

The connection with Lauderdale is the biggest reason Forbes will never leave Pink Martini.

“Thomas can put anything together and make it work,” Forbes said. “That’s the way it’s always been with him.”

Forbes and Lauderdale have been friends for more than 35 years. They met while they were attending Harvard University.

“On paper it seemed like it would work with us musically,” Forbes said. “Thomas was a classical pianist and I was in rock bands. We developed this special connection.

“I told him that I wanted to study opera. It wasn’t his thing but Thomas got some sheet music and accompanied me. We became very good friends. We played together but we didn’t write a song until Pink Martini started.”

Pink Martini was formed in 1994 by Lauderdale. At that time, Forbes was immersed in New York’s singer-songwriter scene.

“Thomas asked me to come out and sing with him,” Forbes said. “It was a total lark. I never thought we would be in a band together but it happened and it’s one of the best choices that I made.”

For many musicians, a gig in Pink Martini would be daunting considering how versatile the band is in the studio and onstage.

“I think this group might be a bit much for some people but not me,” Forbes said. “I was in rock bands, the choir, I did madrigals and I was part of musical theater. I play guitar. I feel like I’m ready for anything when it comes to music.

“Being part of Pink Martini, which is so wonderfully eclectic, is natural for me. My musicianship is innate. I can’t write sheet music like Thomas, but what we have works.”

Forbes has realized a dream from almost a half-century ago when she pretended to be Donna Summer.

“I bought the album, ‘Donna Summer Live and More’ and impersonated her. I taught myself to sing by imitating her and I made this career for myself.”