easy listening

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 created in 1994 in Portland, Oregon by Harvard graduate and classically trained pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale to play at political fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, clean water, and public broadcasting. He soon invited fellow Harvard alumna China Forbes to sing with the band.

Ted Egan is an Australian folk singer/songwriter who grew up and lived most of his life in the northern parts of Australia. His songs are many, and tell stories about people and times in Australian history, sometimes serious, sometimes quite funny. Currently, Ted is the Administrator of the Northern Territory of Australia, appointed in 2003. Official site has more:
http://www.tedegan.com.au/bio.htm As does the NT government page:

Where words fail, music speaks. Imagine flying in the clouds looking at creation from God's point of view. The sun setting, dipping into a beautiful blue ocean, the sky, so blue that it hurts to merely look at it, the image of all creation crying out in adoration of its Creator. instrumental music has the power to conjure such images in the minds of its listeners. Rivertribe combines instruments from around the world to create music that takes listeners on a journey to places only conceived in the imagination. It breaks down walls to go where songs with words can't go.

Born in the small coastal town of Angourie, Australia, Ry grew up with a surfboard under one arm and his Dad’s record collection under the other. He quickly developed a love for many different styles of music from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to The Beatles and The Police. His voracious appetite for music grew while his wide and varied tastes began to mold the sound and style that is uniquely Ry Cuming.