FIONA ROSS Moments in My Notebook

“Fiona Ross’s Moments in My Notebook is a sprawling, soul-rich double album that cements her place as a bold and boundary-pushing force in contemporary jazz. Across 21 tracks, she unfolds a deeply human narrative of resilience, longing, protest, and pure creative fire crafted with an intimacy that makes the listener feel like they’re reading pages torn straight from her personal journal. From lush full-band grooves to sparse, piano-laced soliloquies, the album’s sonic range is as diverse as the emotions it evokes.

Ross’s artistry shines brightest in her storytelling each song is a self-contained vignette, yet together they form an intricate mosaic of memory and meaning. Tracks like “Let Your Soul Shine” glow with effortless warmth and uplift, while “Pirates in Paris” drips with cinematic allure, evoking cobbled streets, late-night cafés, and the liberating pull of artistic freedom. Her voice, always expressive and unguarded, carries both the ache of nostalgia and the thrill of discovery, weaving timeless truths into fresh, genre-fluid soundscapes.

The album doesn’t shy away from heavier terrain, either. “Voices Unheard” is a standout a poetic reckoning with history’s silenced figures, wrapped in haunting harmonies and bold instrumentation. Equally powerful is “I Don’t Want Money,” a raw, jazz-inflected protest against capitalism’s chokehold on creative expression. These songs speak not just to musicians, but to anyone who’s ever felt the weight of compromise in a world that too often undervalues art and authenticity.

Closing with the beautifully contemplative “100 Songs,” Ross offers a quiet, yet piercing meditation on legacy. The track doesn’t offer neat resolutions, instead inviting listeners to sit with the ache of questions unanswered and dreams still unfolding. As she prepares to share this body of work on tour, Moments in My Notebook stands not just as a celebration of a milestone, but as a love letter to the creative spirit unfiltered, unrelenting, and defiantly alive.

Written by Patrick