Reluctant no more, Kiki Ebsen clicked the heels of her ruby red shoes three times and set off on the yellow brick road armed with the Great American songbook, Broadway show tunes and songs from Hollywood’s Golden Era that are connected to the career of her celebrity father, Buddy Ebsen.  In September, the singer-songwriter-keyboardist released the David Mann-produced “Scarecrow Sessions” on her Painted Pony Media label, a classy offering being warmly received by jazz radio programmers and journalists across the nation charmed by the elegant acoustic jazz recording, the sentimentality that inspired it and a sprinkling of Tinseltown stardust.

Initially, Kiki Ebsen dug her heels in defiantly at her father’s insistence that she learn to sing jazz standards, instead preferring to follow her own path by writing her own material and singing and playing with pop, rock and R&B royalty. Years after Buddy’s passing, Kiki smartly mustered the courage to go out on a limb in order to honor his wishes, which she ably does with heart on the twelve songs, including “Missing You,” a touching beauty co-penned by Buddy unearthed while Kiki was foraging through a box of his old scripts and songbooks. One of those scripts was from “The Wizard of Oz.” Buddy was originally cast to play the Scarecrow, but agreed to play the Tin Man instead. However, metallic particles from the costume and the aluminum makeup covering his hands, neck and face provoked a toxic reaction when it seeped into his lungs causing the actor to be hospitalized for several days where he required the aid of a respirator in order to breathe, leaving him unfit to play the part. In addition to recording “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and “If I Only Had A Brain” from the iconic feature - the latter being the first single presently collecting radio spins at stations across the U.S. - Kiki also selected gems from Buddy’s celebrated film roles in “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” with Audrey Hepburn (“Moon River”), “Captain January” with Shirley Temple (“At The Codfish Ball”), and “Banjo On My Knee” with Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck (“St. Louis Blues”).

The imaginative artistry and high-level musicianship make “Scarecrow Sessions” more than just a delightful stroll down memory lane. Ebsen’s initial endeavor into jazz shines brightly on its own merits. Possessing grace and an invitingly expressive voice, Ebsen recorded in New York City not far from her father’s environs when he was on Broadway and a Vaudevillian song and dance man. She was joined in the studio by some of the locale’s finest players including Chuck Loeb (electric and acoustic guitars), John Patitucci (acoustic and electric bass), Henry Hey (piano and organ), Clint de Ganon (drums) and Mann on saxophone and flute.

You Don't Know

If I Only Had A Brain

From the record "The Beauty Inside" Kiki Ebsen, an accomplished singer and songwriter, known for backing up such artists as Christopher Cross, Wilson Phillips, Boz Scaggs, Tracy Chapman and many more, introduces her first original CD in five years. Already with four CD's under her belt, her latest endeavor is an impressive collection of thirteen self-penned tunes inspired by her own real life stories. The CD is beautifully packaged in a full color digipack filled with pictures and lyrics for each song. Taking a candid look at her own relationships, Kiki carries the listener on an emotional journey of honesty, passion, purpose and peace as she negotiates her way through her own darkness and eventually back into the light. This CD is sure to connect with everyone who wishes to dig deeper for the truth in their heart, past the superficial, to find....The Beauty Inside
"Better Friends" may be one of the best hooks I have ever heard. Christopher Cross on "The Beauty Inside"
“From her slinky, earthy style to her rich sense of melody and beautiful voice, this is full of gems and treasures that I will enjoy forever.” Wendy Wilson (of Wilson/Phillips) on "The Beauty Inside"
“Apart from interpreting hit songs from other artists like she did last year on her album ‘Cool Songs Volume 1’, Los Angeles’ singer-songwriter and keyboards player Kiki Ebsen demonstrates on her latest release ‘The Beauty Inside’ that she can also write rich and valuable compositions and sing these songs in a diversity of music styles like pop, folk and jazz.” www.rootstime.be
“The Beauty Inside"...contains a nice mixture of smooth Singer/Songwriter Pop/Rock, some Westcoast and a bit of AOR/Poprock .... which combined makes up for an excellent release” Strutterzine
"Darling" has such a wonderful surprises in the tempos with the melody that implore you to join in your story. This magical honesty expressing the undeniable reality of relationships and the struggle to accept it. Christopher Cross on "The Beauty Inside"
produced by Mark Browne with Kiki Ebsen credits released September 1, 2011
Kiki Ebsen-all vocals, keyboards Mark Browne-bass James Harrah, Nick Kirgo-guitars Matt Starr-drums Adrienne Woods-cello Chris Woods-violin/viola
Watch the "Making Of The Beauty Inside" by award winning film maker Dustin Ebsen. www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD9F15DD8102C0589
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3 Love Wait For Me

Kiki Ebsen, is an accomplished singer and songwriter, known for backing up such artists as Christopher Cross, Wilson Phillips, Boz Scaggs, Tracy Chapman and many more. She has released five solo records. Her latest, Scarecrow Sessions, is a collection of jazz standards inspired by songs from her dad's life and career to be released as a gift to him on Father's Day 2014. The album features an all-star band with John Patitucci on bass, Chuck Loeb on guitar, Clint de Ganon on drums and Henry Hey on piano. David Mann is producing and adds the saxophone as well. Check this link below for the touching story on how this project came to be.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/buddyebsen/to-my-dad-buddy-ebsen-for-fathers-day-love-kiki

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