Kathleen Saadat

Vocalist and political activist Kathleen Saadat spent much of her life fighting for the rights of marginalized people before launching her singing career. Emerging in Portland, Oregon in the 1970s, Saadat initially came to prominence as a dedicated public servant and civil rights activist. Beginning in 1987, she accepted a position as Oregon's affirmative action director, and spent the better part of career advocating for the LGBTQ community, as well as for women, people of color, and the poor. Although music was always a passion, she never thought of pursuing it seriously until co-worker and <a href="spotify:artist:6KyUat70qaniuiZq63HzFZ">Pink Martini</a>-founder <a href="spotify:artist:6687FLqoLQQnLXQiBC7NxL">Thomas Lauderdale</a> began encouraging her to sing with him. A partnership followed, and in 2016, at the age of 77, Saadat released her debut standards album, Love for Sale. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Saadat spent time living in Nashville, Tennessee, and Chicago, Illinois, before earning her psychology degree from Portland, Oregon's Reed College in 1974. Over the next 30 years, she built a strong reputation as a social and political activist. Appointed Oregon's affirmative action director in 1987, she also worked in such varied capacities as assistant to the Portland City Commissioner, diversity director for Cascade AIDS Project, and diversity development and affirmative action manager for the city of Portland. In 2012, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Portland Human Rights Commission. Along the way, she'd befriended <a href="spotify:artist:6KyUat70qaniuiZq63HzFZ">Pink Martini</a> founder <a href="spotify:artist:6687FLqoLQQnLXQiBC7NxL">Thomas Lauderdale</a> while they were both working for the Portland City Commissioner. Although Saadat was never trained as a vocalist, she would often sing jazz standards on a casual basis with <a href="spotify:artist:6687FLqoLQQnLXQiBC7NxL">Lauderdale</a>. In 2016, she guested on <a href="spotify:artist:6KyUat70qaniuiZq63HzFZ">Pink Martini</a>'s Je Dis Oui!, and afterwards began collaborating with <a href="spotify:artist:6687FLqoLQQnLXQiBC7NxL">Lauderdale</a> and the band on her own recording. In 2018, at age 77, Saadat released her debut album, the <a href="spotify:artist:6687FLqoLQQnLXQiBC7NxL">Lauderdale</a>-produced Love for Sale. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi