Available exclusively from iTunes

"Yuuzuki" a new limited-edition single from the celebrated and beloved 12-piece “little orchestra” from Portland, Oregon, Pink Martini, is available starting today exclusively on iTunes. The song features vocals from Japanese superstar Saori Yuki and orchestrations by Stephen Taylor and Pink Martini pianist/bandleader, Thomas M. Lauderdale. Of recording with Yuki, Lauderdale notes, “Working on this song with Saori Yuki, it seemed like the perfect vehicle for her. And she just so happened to be in Portland, Oregon to perform a benefit concert with us when Starbucks called and asked if we’d record a song in Japanese to help raise additional money. So it all came together in a matter of days!” Available until June 30, 100\\% of the song’s proceeds will go toward the Red Cross and their Japan Earthquake/Tsunami relief efforts.

“Yuuzuki,” which literally translates to “Evening Moon,” was written in 1968 and enjoyed huge popularity in Japan when Jun Mayuzumi sung and released it in 1969. On the choice of the song, Lauderdale comments, “I was overtaken with the gorgeousness of the melody and the profound sadness of the lyrics. In such moment of devastation it seemed to be the perfect song to record to help benefit disaster relief efforts in Japan...a song underlined with melancholy yet full of hope—‘everything I see is veiled in sadness, under the evening moon I sing of love...tell me what I’ve done, so I can beg your forgiveness, I tell my sorrows only to the evening moon.’”

Widely considered to be the “Barbara Streisand of Japan” Saori Yuki released her debut album in Japan in 1969 and has gone on to make over 30 albums in her 42 years. Yuki discovered Pink Martini after the band covered her song “Taya Tan” for their 2007 album Hey Eugene! Most recently, Yuki sang a verse of “Silent Night” in Japanese for the band’s 2010 holiday album Joy To The World.