Jazz Artist Fiona Ross Captures the Bustle, Profundity and Glamour of the Everyday on New Album Thoughts, Conversations, and To Do Lists

Jazz singer-songwriter Fiona Ross undertakes the difficulty of capturing the everyday – via both its birds-eye view and its sharp, minute detail – on her new album Thoughts, Conversations and To Do Lists – available on April 28th. 

She manages to crystallize the racing interior monologue, the standstill of the post-breakup blues, the gentle flow of a thirst for knowledge. She also deftly paints the party atmosphere, the easy camaraderie between friends, and the steadfast desire for truth.

The album’s opener, “When Will You Leave My Mind,” is a paradoxical song in the sense that it’s sonically full of movement – it has the pace of a cha-cha, a chugging train, a bustling city – while the lyrics capture perfectly the state of stuckness and standstill after a breakup. Replete with a catchy Latin guitar groove, the track makes the internal turmoil palpable with Ross’ syncopated singing, her words moving deftly in and out of the sensual instrumentation as she inquires, “When will you leave my mind/ You’ve spent too long in my mind/ You don’t belong in my mind.” The overall effect, however, is sassiness and steadfastness rather than wilted defeat, and the listener gets the sense that she’s going to solve this – if not right now, then quite soon.

Thoughts, Conversations and To Do Lists moves from strutting (“I Want To Know More”) to pensive and meandering (like the sax-studded “The Small Things”) to the wild, raucous and adventurous (“When You Walked In The Room”). Ross’ voice soars, strides, and shimmies through “A Single Source of Truth,” about looking for straightforwardness and low-drama in a world of melodrama and fake news. 

Meanwhile, Trumpet Man” is sexy and undulating, an ode to a sort of renaissance man, with (of course) sublime trumpet accents in all the right places. “The Don’t Stop Just Breathe Ragtime” features wildly fun, almost cartoonish instrumentation with a sense of deep playfulness. And the glittering piano, danceable beats, and groovy guitar on the instrumental “#ThursdayThoughts” at the album’s conclusion replicate a mind racing with ideas and boundless energy. 

Written, arranged and produced by Ross, the 14-track album is a compendium of several themes reflecting Ross’ day-to-day life. While some songs are busy, with lots going on from every angle, others are more interior and reflective, mirroring Ross’ headspace.  

“Someone asked me what my new album was about and I explained that it’s just really some of my thoughts, some conversations I’ve had, and my To-Do lists,” Ross recalls. “That kind of stuck, so decided to call it exactly that – Thoughts, Conversations and To Do Lists.” 

The liner notes on her last two albums were written by Maxine Gordon and Celine Peterson and for this album Fiona has the award winning journalist and author of She Raised Her Voice!: 50 Black Women Who Sang Their Way Into Music History Jordannah Elizabeth who says  ‘Thoughts, Conversations and To Do Lists’ is an incredible album in 2023 that defines Ross’ gifts as a well-honed, recognizable style. As the future draws post-modern life toward and within it, Ross will be heard in a new way; as women in jazz become notable for their compositions and arrangements, as well as her voice. Beyond gender, as a musician and songwriter, the album is a complete culmination of a myriad of viewpoints, thoughtful self-reflection, and collaborative music as she brings together a band that gels and has balanced chemistry. It’s been my honor to write these liner notes as a part of a lineage of women’

Written, arranged and produced by Fiona Ross

Vocals and Piano: Fiona Ross

Guitar: Gibbi BettiniBass: Derek DaleyDrums: Marley DrummondSaxophones and Flute: Loren Hignell

Trumpets: Dave BoaBacking vocals: Ashaine WhitePercussion: Warren Woodcraft

Guest appearance on ‘Push Me Around in a Pushchair’: Nancy Richardson

Recorded at Studio XYZ by Gibbi Bettini. Mixed at Highfield Studio by Elliot Richardson and Warren Woodcraft

Mastered by Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering

Front Cover photo by Monika S Jakubowska taken at Jazz Cafe Posk, London.

Artwork by Chris CunninghamPhotos by Ron Milsom and Tatiana Gorilovsky

Liner notes by Jordannah Elizabeth

Thoughts, Conversations and To Do Lists will be available on April 28th and can be pre ordered here