Kiki Ebsen: Shaking Her Audience Up with the Nostalgia of Old Hollywood

Kiki Ebsen is a dynamic performer with an impressive musical range. Her exchange of jazz, pop, classical, and rock is entertaining and educational. She sings the standards from the Great American Songbook, is an engaging storyteller, not to mention she’s a comedienne and quite the convincing actor when performing her musical shows. As a gifted keyboardist and vocalist, Kiki has supported Grammy-winning and platinum-selling artists, including Al Jarreau, Tracy Chapman, Michael McDonald, and Boz Scaggs. I don’t want to take away from her natural talent, but she comes from a great legacy. Her father is Buddy Ebsen (Beverly Hillbillies, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Davy Crockett, and Barnaby Jones). Kiki not only resembles her father, but she inherited his natural talent and verve as a performer.

I had the pleasure of witnessing Kiki Ebsen in concert once before for her “Joni Mitchell Project” at Bogies in April 2019, which I enjoyed immensely. And what a delight it was to attend her most recent performance “An Evening in Old Hollywood” at the newly renovated Feinstein’s at Vitello’s in Studio City on July 5th. I am a huge classic movie buff and this show proved to be very special. Both shows are very different with a well-thought-out script. Kiki is known for her career as an instrumentalist and singer; and we get a real dose of her strong instrumental talents in the Joni Mitchell Project where I only got a glimpse of her jazz chops. But last night, she dazzled in her sequins as she performed many Hollywood classics, and reminded me of the legendary performers of the time.

Kiki Ebsen - An Evening in Old Hollywood (Photos: Sheryl Aronson) — Kiki Ebsen – An Evening in Old Hollywood (Above Photo: Sheryl Aronson)

Kiki Ebsen’s song list was diverse, accompanied by interesting facts, most of which included her famous dad Buddy Ebsen. She sang a lovely version of Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I thought I knew everything about that movie but learned that evening that “Moon River” was written about Buddy Ebsen’s character in the film. As Kiki tells the story, she breaks out in song, carrying all of us with her down a nostalgic path. Other rare facts about Buddy were mentioned, too. Many don’t know that Buddy Ebsen was the original scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, but due to a costume malfunction (which was not his fault), he lost that role. Kiki filled us all in and performed, “If I Only Had a Brain.” Each song was backed up with a great Hollywood story. She even did a song by Eartha Kitt! My favorite moment was when she mimicked Jessica Rabbit then sang, “Why Don’t You Do Right” from the movie Who Killed Roger Rabbit.

There were many surprises including a 7.1 earthquake at the beginning of the show. And the professional that she is, Kiki put her audience at ease during the long quake. Pleasant surprises were performances by Lee Meriwether (Miss America 1955, Catwoman in the film Batman, Barnaby Jones) and Debby Boone (“You Light Up My Life” & 3-time Grammy-winner). Meriwether sang a duet with Kiki on a song Buddy Ebsen wrote called “Rendezvous.” And Boone performed “Everybody Loves Somebody.” Both performances were preceded by fond memories of Buddy Ebsen and Dean Martin told by Meriwether and Boone. As the evening came to a close, Kiki, Lee, and Debby performed one last song together, “Our Love is Here to Stay.”

Kiki Ebsen is an incredible entertainer. I laughed a lot and really enjoyed her performance. Kiki’s band included pianist and music director Jeff Colella, drummer Kendall Kay, bassist Granville “Danny” Young, and Kim Richmond on woodwinds; and Kiki was joined by guitarist Grant Geissman on a few tunes. The evening was filled with trivia questions and ticket giveaways for her popular show “To Dad with Love: A Tribute to Buddy Ebsen,” which she will be performing in September. To see Kiki in concert, visit https://kikiebsen.com/calendar. Visit Feinstein’s at Vitello’s.