''Moments in My Notebook'' by Fiona Ross – Jazz Confessions from a Sonic Storyteller

Moments in My Notebook

In a world of throwaway singles and algorithm-chasing trends, Fiona Ross has quietly and confidently built a career rooted in authenticity, risk, and deeply personal expression. With Moments in My Notebook, her seventh studio album and a milestone 100th original song release, Ross delivers a masterclass in genre-blending, lyrical storytelling, and musical generosity. This is a living journal, a map of emotional terrain spanning decades of experience, inked in swing, soul, and sincerity.

The title track, "Moments in My Notebook" (officially titled “I Found A Song In My Notebook” on the album), is the album’s emotional and conceptual cornerstone. It begins with Fiona alone at the piano, her voice low and intimate, like a secret being shared across a coffee table. There’s something sacred in her delivery—a reverence for memory and the creative spark that never quite dies. “I found a song in my notebook,” she sings, almost surprised by the discovery, and from that moment, the track blooms. Horns enter gently, the rhythm section follows, and suddenly we’re inside one of those late-night jazz clubs that exist outside of time. The groove is smooth, understated, but urgent—mirroring the heart that beats behind every page she’s ever filled.

What makes this track so compelling is how it collapses time. Ross writes about the past and reanimates it. Her lyrics sketch out snapshots of unfinished songs, scribbled verses, half-formed chords—all brought into sharp, expressive focus by Loren Hignell’s elegant arrangement. It’s a song about rediscovery, and also about resilience—the idea that the ideas we almost forget still carry weight, still deserve to be sung.

Sonically, “Moments in My Notebook” is quintessential Fiona Ross: contemporary jazz rooted in tradition, but never trapped by it. There are hints of Nina Simone’s lyrical truth-telling, Carole King’s melodic honesty, and the rhythmic looseness of Latin jazz. But it’s also wholly her own, marked by a production style that prioritises clarity and emotional precision. You hear every brushstroke on the snare, every breath in her phrasing. The band plays like a family, and that connection—organic, intuitive—makes the track feel improvised and intentional.

Lyrically, Ross writes about herself and the universal experience of creative longing. Her lyrics resonate far beyond the music world. They speak to anyone who’s ever tucked a part of themselves away for later, hoping one day the moment would be right. In this song, Ross claims that moment and offers it to us. It's about finding courage in the unfinished.

There’s also something meta about the track. In singing about songs written long ago, Ross subtly comments on her evolution—how teenage scribbles can mature into profound adult truths. That vulnerability is crucial: there’s no ego here, only openness. By the time she repeats the phrase “I found a song in my notebook” near the end, it’s not a quiet observation anymore, but a celebration. She has turned memory into melody, hesitation into harmony.

As a stand-alone track, “Moments in My Notebook” could easily be a thesis statement for the entire album. The 21-song collection feels like a lovingly curated anthology—each track a different memory, emotion, or philosophical musing. But this one is the album’s spine. It’s the song that explains why the rest exist, the seed from which the rest of the album blooms. And it stands as a touching tribute to the artist’s creative tenacity, her refusal to let old words fade into silence.

The musicianship on this track deserves special attention. Ross’s piano playing is percussive and lyrical, creating a rhythmic bed that feels alive. Gibbi Bettini’s guitar lines flicker in the background like old film grain, while Derek Daley’s bass grounds the track with warm resolve. Marley Drummond’s drumming is subtle but essential, pushing the song forward without overpowering the vocals’ intimacy. It’s all perfectly balanced, engineered with precision, but performed with heart.

For listeners new to Fiona Ross, "Moments in My Notebook" is the ideal gateway. It captures her signature ability to blend narrative and melody, personal reflection and collective resonance. For long-time fans, it’s a gentle reminder of why she matters so much to the UK jazz scene and beyond. This is a song that trusts the listener to feel deeply, to pay attention, and to find a piece of themselves in its pages.

“Moments in My Notebook” is an invocation. Fiona Ross invites us to go back to our own scribbled thoughts, dusty memories, and half-finished dreams. To look again. To sing them into being. And maybe, just maybe, to let our notebooks come alive.

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Fiona Ross