Supporting Stars

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 04/29/2008 3:54 PM | Two of a Kind

March’s JavaJazz was a ‘reunion’ for Kiki Ebsen, bringing her together with many artists she has previously performed with around the world. As a singer and keyboardist, she has made beautiful music with such prominent acts as Tracy Chapman, James Ingram, Boz Scaggs, Christopher Cross and, in Jakarta, Ray Parker Jr. Her gorgeously silky, unmistakable voice has been showcased on four critically acclaimed albums, but she has never achieved top billing. The Californian, who knew fame early on as the sixth and youngest daughter of actor Buddy Ebsen, reflects on the music business and pursuing the big time.

Being the child of a celebrity comes with its set of privileges and challenges. You get to meet a lot of people and are exposed to the arts. My mother was a theater actress, too, so my family was very well versed in the arts and we experienced the best theater and music and dance. Of course, being around my dad’s set and being involved in his theater productions was cool, it gave us an experience and exposure to the industry both on a professional and community level
The celebrity thing kind of weirded me out. When my father would show up at my school to drop off my lunch, I would be horrified. And there were people who tried to get to know him through me. There is something a bit unnerving about being so famous that people want to get to know you or stalk you. I’m a little intimidated by that.
But we had a lot of fun, too. We did a lot of family shows, too, and I would sing and dance with him. I look back at it with fond memories.

My whole family was in theater; it was a very dramatic dinner table with everybody vying for attention. So I retreated to my piano. I always heard melodies, and I started writing my own songs. It was very comforting for me. I spent a lot of time alone, I had my own inner live music. I was lucky I had older sisters who would come and tell me, “You’ve got to listen to this.” I still remember one of them coming in with a Joni
Mitchell album when she was a new artist.

I always played in bands; that was always what I wanted to do, because I loved playing with other musicians. Then I went to the California Institute of the Arts, and went off on a kind of operatic thing for a minute. It wasn’t my heart’s passion, but the instructors loved my kind of voice and it was an experience. I got my degree and ended up playing keyboards off-stage with the group Chicago. I then progressed to Al Jarreau’s band, going from band to band, never really staying in one place long enough to focus totally on a solo career. Looking back on it all, it is all my career, the sideman gigs, songwriting and my solo records.

Getting out from under my dad’s shadow has been challenging. He had his own ideas for my music, and I sort of rebelled. Initially, I had to find my own way, and not be so influenced by his name and great celebrity. It’s not so much today, but I still feel it a little bit. Of course, everyone loves my father for his wonderful contributions to the arts, but I feel that I am also appreciated for what I do.

I have a tough time with American Idol. I don’t think it’s doing anything good for the industry. It’s placing too much focus on creating idols rather than developing artists, but that is what it’s supposed to do. On a positive note, it’s never been a better time for artists like myself, at this stage in my life, because there are all different types of marketing out there now … you can license your music and sell it that way.

In my perfect world, I would be out front, doing small theater tours, making records and living comfortably. But being a sideman is not a bad life. You still get to travel worldwide and play really good music with other artists without the pressure of having to go out there in front. Struggling singer-songwriters don’t always get that opportunity … and when I do play my gigs, often there will be someone who comes up to me and says my music changed their life, whether it was my voice or a song, and it really inspires me.

I hear the same story from most of the artists that I talk to. They’ve had a number one hit, but they’re not selling anymore, so they feel the pressure to do this or that to fit into a format. When you are an independent, you can do anything you want.

My life is split right down the middle; I’m an equestrian and very into using horses for equine assisted growth and learning programs. When I am home with my husband, we enjoy puttering around our ranch. I do a lot of my songwriting at home as well. Then I travel doing my gigs and my sideman stuff. I’m working on two CDs for release later this year.

These days, I am really trying to live in an enlightened, happy-where-I-am way, not going with the “what ifs”. This world today needs a lot of positive thinking. We shouldn’t give up no matter what our age is or whatever the circumstances, especially if we have a passion for what we are doing and a message to give. That’s something my father taught me. He passed when he was 95, but he never stopped creating, he always had a pad and pencil with him to jot down ideas.

Roberto Vally is big, friendly and ebullient; other musicians affectionately describe the 47-year-old as a lovable ‘bear’. The L.A.-based Brooklyn native also is an accomplished bass player, performing with Spyro Gyra, Randy Crawford, Michael Franks, George Benson and Hillary Duff. Since the 1990s, he has toured with popular crooner Bobby Caldwell, as well as doing freelance studio work. During his trip to Jakarta for JavaJazz, the father of five discussed his career as a musical freelancer.

The story goes that when I was in grade school they did a musical aptitude test for all the students, and I got a perfect score. They said they wanted to use me in the orchestra, and my mom thought it would be good if it kept me out of trouble. They asked me what I wanted to play and I saw the basses lined up against the wall – like big violins – and I said, “I want to play that.”

My mom sang a bit and she went into one of these like karaoke stores and cut a 78 record. She had an almost tenor voice, very deep. She studied piano a bit, too. My father probably had more musical talent, but he grew up pretty poor in southern Italy. My father sacrificed a lot to come to the States and bring over his family. I would say that they were the wind beneath my wings, allowing me to find my talent and my passion. My mom always told me, “Roberto, just go for it, be the best.”

I started playing professionally at a very early age. I played through grade school with little pop and Top 40 bands, playing bat mitzvahs, church parties and sweet 16 parties. My parents had to get a station wagon to cart our equipment around. And in school, I was playing the big bass fiddle, doing orchestral music. Outside it was whatever else I could sink my teeth into, whether it was pop, jazz, funk, fusion or Latin music, because growing up in New York we had everything available.

I went to the High School of Music and Arts, which they modeled Fame on. The experience that I got there, being with 2,000 students who were all musicians and artists from all over New York City, was invaluable. In Brooklyn, I had been the big fish in the small pond but I finally met my match at high school – I saw people who were better than me.

Everything comes together when you have a great sound and you can feel the audience. It’s great playing in front of 40,000 people but there’s nothing like being in a club where the energy is coming right at you in a nice circle, where the music is playing us. You get to that place where the music is flowing out of you and you can almost do no wrong.

I never had that idea to be a star. That’s not to say that one day I won’t put out a record of my own. Guys like Bobby are happy when their sidemen have a CD. I’m planning to have a record of my own.

I spend about 100 days of the year performing out of town. I also do big corporate galas and fund-raisers to supplement my income. As a family man, on weekends I pick my out-of-town stuff more selectively, because I want to be there for my children. They keep me really busy. I also like surfing; it’s my shrink, my church and my gym. I also like to cook, that goes back to watching my mother and grandmother cook when I was a kid growing up in an Italian household. My children love my food, and even my mother says my meatballs rival hers.

It’s wonderful to get up every morning, like the guy in the Titanic, and not know what you are going to do. I didn’t know until about a month ago that I would come to Jakarta with Bobby. It’s nice to have that element of surprise. As a freelance bass player, I’ve learned to embrace the struggle. I don’t have a contract with anybody and haven’t had one in years. It’s all on a handshake, but the phone still rings. I’m blessed with being able to do the thing I love.

As told to Bruce Emond
Photos courtesy Mackenzie Images

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