On Rebecca Pidgeon’s new album, Behind The Velvet Curtain, it’s the bravery of her choices - the smarts behind her fragile, wistful vocal style - that merits the polished brass behind producer Larry Klein’s impeccable production.
There’s the intrigue of “Long Island Poem,” a song crafted from a strained dinner encounter; the Bossa Nova slink of “Dawn,” which she boldly reprises in fluent Portuguese at the end of the album, (titled “Manha”) thanks to a translation by singer Luciana Souza, who also appears with Rebecca on the Brazilian-tinged duet “When You Were Mine.” In between, the singer/actress messes with our heads and hearts, trading on the softer currents of a voice that manages to sound as confident as it is caressing, with two of the songs co-written by playwright/film director (and Rebecca’s husband) David Mamet. The noted dramatist was so moved by Rebecca’s Bossa Nova leanings he placed some of the songs in his new movie Redbelt, which explores themes of honor and respect in the world of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu set in the culture of the west Los Angeles fight world.