Fiona Ross is a jazz artist extraordinaire. Her impressive talents include producer, musical director, composer, arranger, session musician, choreographer, director, dancer, actor, and model. She is also a jazz journalist, interviewing notable and renowned jazz artists.
She began her classically trained musical journey at the age of two with dance, drama, and singing lessons; piano lessons at age 6. Fiona would go on to star in London’s West End at age 8 and performed as a solo artist at jazz clubs throughout London at 14.
Besides music, Fiona has a passion for educating and training young people. For almost nine years, she was Head of the British Academy of New Music, London, where she trained Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, and Jess Glynne among others.
Fiona is also very passionate about raising awareness and supporting mental health and equality issues. She’s a patron for the mental health organization Insomniac Club as well as supporting and promoting helpmusicians.org.uk, girslthatgig.com, soundgirls.org, indiemusicwomen, musicmindsmatter.org.uk, and masato.co.uk/collections/masato-homeless-support.
You can learn more about Fiona by reading our in-depth interview with her, here.
Fierce and Non-Compliant is Fiona’s highly anticipated fifth album. Written, produced, and arranged by Fiona, it is an eclectic collection of fast-paced Latin jazz, vintage jazz club, neo-soul, and heart-breaking ballads which create the contemporary jazz sound that she is known for.
Special guest musicians on the album include world-renowned bassist Snow Owl, one of UK’s most exciting saxophonists Kim Cypher, award-winning dancer and choreographer Adam Cooper, and notable Blues, Rock and Jazz guitarist Marco Piccioni.
I recently interviewed Fiona via email about writing, producing, and arranging the album, recording with Latin Grammy-nominated and world-renowned bassist Snow Owl, the story behind the album cover photo, having Maxine Gordon write the album sleeve notes, working with other renowned guest musicians, and so much more.
Congratulations on the release of your highly anticipated new album, Fierce and Non-Compliant! What is the concept or theme? What is the meaning behind the title?
Thank you so much! It’s been crazy and I have really been overwhelmed by its reception. The title came before any of the music or any ideas, to be honest. I saw a quote about being fierce and non-compliant and posted it on Twitter as a kind of motivational thing. Someone replied and said it would make a great album title and I thought, wow, yes, great title, I’ll call my next album that! But without any more thought than it was a fab title. But it all came into place bizarrely. I started to worry about the title and what people would think I was saying – and that, it would sound a bit arrogant and pretentious and I wouldn’t want anyone to think that about me. I was also looking through some old photos of me as a child and, well, I did look all feisty and naughty. I was always in trouble at school for not doing what I was told. I also realised that people always refer to me as fierce – not what I call myself, but other people do. I have had that my whole life to be honest, and I think that stems from my red hair and the fact that I have never been one to ‘follow the crowd’ really. So I decided to use the title track to explain that other people say I am fierce and in fact, I use quotes from reviews I have had as part of the lyrics to help explain my point. For example, Jazz in Europe said I was a ‘bold woman who is ready to set the world on fire’. But I also explain that this is not how I see myself at all and that I’m just trying to do my thing and not pretend to be anything I’m not – just be me.
Tell us the story behind the adorable cover photo of the album, and why you chose it.
Ha, I have so many photos of me looking stroppy when I was young! Well, my Mother has recently gone into a home, as she has Alzheimer’s, and this has meant clearing out her house and going through photos, etc. She always made me pose and look all sassy. All the photos of me when I was young demonstrate this. She was a full on stage school mum. My first professional job was at the age of two and she always had these dreams of me becoming some big star. She actually wanted me to be the next Julie Andrews. I didn’t. I wanted to be Aretha Franklin.
That photo just sums up the idea of Fierce and Non-compliant I think.
What do you want listeners to take away from the album?
Goodness, I’m not sure. I think that I would just like people to be able to connect with the songs in some way. I cover a variety of topics, so hopefully, there is something for everyone. One song talks about the challenges of just getting up and coping with day to day struggles. Sometimes you feel you can do it and sometimes you feel you can’t – and I think it’s important for people to know they are not alone. We all struggle sometimes, to varying degrees. I think maybe an overriding thing is to just do your thing – whatever that maybe – and that you will be happier in the long run if you are genuine and true to yourself and how you feel.
You wrote, arranged, and produced the album and cited it was a huge challenge on many levels. What specifically were the challenges and how did you overcome them? Why was the process so emotional for you? Would you do it again?
Well fierce for me in the context of this album was sometimes tackling things I hadn’t tackled before. Taking on challenges. The song I wrote about my Father was extremely hard to do. The two songs I recorded with Snow Owl, were challenging. I was also aware that there were huge expectations and I didn’t want to let anyone down (I really, really hate disappointing people) but equally, I didn’t want to change anything about what I do because of any pressure or expectations. The album became an emotional exploration of different things too, which was hard. My childhood and growing up, the good things and struggles, but at the end of the day, I’m just trying to do my thing and go with the flow and I really wanted this to come across in the album. It was also my first time arranging a full brass section – I loved that. It has been emotionally exhausting but also incredibly exhilarating. Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Explain your production process.
I love putting everything together! From writing all the material on my own, at my piano to turning the music into full tracks with musicians, it’s exciting. I am still developing as a producer and a key part of this is using three different studios – so 3 different sets of ears as such. I record in one studio, mix in another and then sort of hand over to another for mastering. I am very organised and clear about what I want, but I am also terrible for adding and changing things during the recording sessions. I suddenly get ideas, ha, and then change things. One track I decided was too dull- on the day of recording it, so I added a section of 7/8 at the end. My musicians will tell you I do that sort of thing all the time…..I like to be organised and I am highly disciplined but I equally love just going with the flow too if it feels right. I am a complete contradiction. I like everything to sound as real as possible so that we can emulate it easily when playing live – so my main aim is that it sounds genuine and with passion.
Why did you decide on such an ‘eclectic mix’ of jazz songs from big band to ballads to Latin and funk for this album?
Well, I didn’t. It’s just what was in my head at the time of writing. But that’s one of the things I love about the title just kind of coming together, but completely unplanned. It’s a little non-compliant I guess. People think a Jazz album should tick certain boxes. I don’t believe it should. I just write what I feel at the time. I love all sorts of music and have been influenced by so many genres my whole life. I think this is what has subconsciously created my sound.
What it was like working with Latin Grammy-nominated and world-renowned bassist, Snow Owl? How did the opportunity come about? Why were the tracks “Don’t Say” and “I Don’t Want It” the only ones to be recorded, mixed, and mastered by him?
Oh my goodness, it was just crazy. I interviewed Snow Owl for a Jazz in Europe, where I am one of their senior writers and we stayed in touch after that. I was writing one of the songs – Don’t Say – and literally, on the third chord, I could just suddenly hear his beautiful bass in my head. I messaged his manager and asked if it was crazy to think he might be a special guest. She said message him. I did and he said yes. So I finished writing that song and wrote another one, specifically with him in mind. He ended up recording, producing and mastering them too which is wonderful as I wrote the songs specifically with his sound in mind.
Tell us more about the castle in Vienna where you recorded with Snow Owl. Why that location? What was it like to record with no real rehearsal and doing live takes? What was the reason for recording that way?
What an experience this was! Snow Owl invited me over to Vienna to record the songs with him. I initially thought we would be recording his bass parts in his own studio at his house and I would add the vocals etc back in the UK. But I turned up and he had arranged for us to use the castle he recorded his Blue Road album in and everything was set up to just record live. It felt so right to just go with the flow. He didn’t want any information about the songs beforehand – no chords, nothing. On the morning of recording, he looked at the chords, we played through each song once and then recorded them. I think we recorded each song twice – not sure which take we used. It was terrifying but a wonderful challenge. I didn’t want to mess up this one off opportunity! But it was so wonderful. The whole experience was incredibly emotional and one I will never forget. He is such a wonderful human being.
For the tracks “Feel” and “For My Dad”, your vocals were recorded in a stairwell. Take us through that recording process. Why did you record them in that location for both songs?
I recorded two songs from my last album in the same place. I just love singing in an environment with those acoustics – my voice just feels freer and I am much more comfortable singing there. I actually hate singing in the studio. But it also had to make sense for the song too. My voice is sort of naked I guess, as they are live with no effects, so I wanted to sing the songs where I am at my most vulnerable.
I actually wanted to record and experiment in a variety of different locations for this album, but ran out of time to do this – but next album for sure. It was tricky, as it is a public stairwell, so lots of noise and we had to keep stopping when people needed to use the staircase. But that kind of added to the fun of it. We used a different vocal mic for these songs though, to make allowance for the noise. I wanted natural noise, but nothing too distracting.
Tell us more about the song, “For My Dad” and why you wrote it.
Honestly, I don’t really know why I wrote it. In my composition book, I had a list of chords with no reference or anything. I didn’t know what they were for – I always write lyrics and music at the same time, so this didn’t really make sense to me, this list of seemingly random chords. I loved them and just thought, I need to put some lyrics to them. I don’t know how they ended up being about my Dad, to be honest. My Dad died when I was younger but he always wanted me to be an artist. I do feel very sad that he never got to see me doing my thing, so I guess this song is just talking about how I feel about that. It’s a hard one to perform live. People have said that this song is an example of me being fierce, which I do understand, but it certainly didn’t – and still doesn’t – feel fierce at all.
Along with Snow Owl, other guests on your album are Kim Cypher, cited as “one of UK’s most exciting saxophonists, vocalists, and composers”, and blues/rock/jazz guitarist Marco Piccioni. What was it like to work with each of them?
So much fun!!! They are both amazing and I am so honoured to have them on my album. Both wonderful musicians – and people. I hope to do the songs live with them at a gig at some point.
Adam Cooper, award-winning dancer, choreographer, and director sings a beautiful duet with you, ‘I Followed My Heart’, on the album. Tell us more about when you two would “sneak out of class, break into a rehearsal room and sing Gershwin songs together”.
This was my absolute favourite session of the whole album and my favourite song to sing out of all the new songs. We had so much fun and the last time we sang together was probably when we were about 14, so it was crazy. We went to a performing arts school where half the day was academic, classroom-based work and the other half was performance based. There were a few small rehearsal rooms with pianos in. We used to sneak out of class and find a room and sing songs – Porgy and Bess duets were my favourite, such beautiful harmonies.
There was one occasion I even remember picking the lock with a coat hanger to get into the room as they had started locking them….I have no idea how I did that. That’s pretty non-compliant. Ha!!
The wonderful album artwork was created by Chris Cunningham. How did you get the opportunity to work with him? Tell us more about the concept for the artwork.
I discovered Chris on Twitter and loved his work. I asked him what he thought about doing one piece of art of me and he said he would love to. He actually ended up sending me 13 pieces, which were all wonderful. There are 13 songs, so it ended up working beautifully – one image for each song. It also made the physical CD something quite beautiful. People don’t buy CDs anymore, which I understand, so I wanted to make it something worthwhile. Everyone has said they are gorgeous – and I have to agree!
The album’s sleeve notes were written by Maxine Gordon, a renowned author, educator, and Jazz advocate and wife of the late American tenor jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon. Why did you decide to have her write them?
I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled and honoured I am to have Maxine write the sleeve notes. She is my absolute hero – such an inspiration. I met Maxine when I interviewed her about her wonderful book about Dexter Gordon. She is such an amazing woman – role model.
It took me a long time to find the courage to ask her to write the sleeve notes. I finally did and she said yes. And oh my goodness, the wonderful things she wrote. Overwhelming to say the least. This is another example of how emotional this album process has been!
You have said that you wanted to include people on the album who have inspired you as both a person and an artist. Tell us how each of them specifically did so.
I could write a full essay here, ha, but I’ll try and keep it succinct.
Snow Owl – I actually wrote the song ‘Use The Right Words’ about him. He made me really see the role I have in raising awareness and supporting things I am passionate about. Social responsibility. Fighting for what you believe in.
Kim (Cypher)– this industry is so hard and it can be a challenge to stay motivated. Kim supports musicians – and women – through social media and beyond and makes you feel that you are not on your own and that we have each other’s backs.
She always posts positive things – and I love that! And she is out there doing her thing.
Marco (Piccioni)– he is one of the most passionate musicians I know. From the minute he picks up his guitar, you can literally see him feel the music. His physicality – he lives and breathes the music. He is also one of the calmest, peaceful people I know.
Adam (Cooper)– having first met Adam when I was 11, it is a huge inspiration to see how incredibly successful he has become. He always was an incredibly beautiful and talented dancer and it is so wonderful to see that the world knows this too. To see that journey is amazing.
Maxine (Gordon) – I was inspired by her before I even met her and this just quadrupled the day I interviewed her. I am in absolute awe of her passion and love for musicians. For raising awareness of issues that need to be addressed, tackling areas without fear – she is fierce but in an incredibly unassuming way. Her writing is inspired. Her eyes literally light up when she talks about music and musicians. A truly incredible woman.
Fun question: Why did you try to wear a fedora on top of your headphones while recording?
Well, to be perfectly honest…..I love hats and wear them quite a bit. But also…..my hair is completely unmanageable at times as it is naturally curly, so sometimes it looks ok and other times it’s just a train wreck and quite frankly, life is too short to try and tame it, ha!! So I do sometimes wear a hat because my hair is just not behaving. On that day, my hair was awful, so I wore my hat, but then someone came to take photos…this was fine until I decided to record a few last minute backing vocals. So I had to try and keep my hat on to hide my bad hair. It was a challenge….
What advice would you give to women who aspire to become their own producers?
Well, I am certainly not experienced in this area and I am still learning. This album is my third as a producer and all I can really say is don’t be afraid to experiment. Yes, they are lots of books and people that will tell you that you must do things a certain way – and they may be right – but ultimately it is your own ears that you have to trust and rely on. You have to work out what it is you actually want to hear – and importantly, why you want to hear it – and then work out how to achieve it. It is also a highly male-dominated area and I think this sometimes makes us afraid to experiment, as we feel we have something to prove to the men. We don’t. We are just as capable. Be confident in what you are trying to achieve and just go for it.
What are your tour/show plans to promote the album?
I am busy touring this year with the new album, currently booked until December. I am planning a European tour for 2020, so it’s quite exciting.
What other projects do you have planned for 2019?
I also work as a journalist, so I am busy with that and I’m quite excited about some articles I will be working on, exploring some of the unsung female heroes of Jazz – and emerging artists. I am extremely passionate about helping other artists as much as possible. We are all in this together as far as I am concerned.
I am also a patron for a mental health organisation – Insomniac Club – and will be exploring some projects with them. I have also, ha, been thinking about my next album. I didn’t mean to, but had some ideas and started writing a little bit. I couldn’t help it.
Thank you, Fiona, for the opportunity to interview you.
Connect with Fiona: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
You can buy Fierce and Non-Compliant on iTunes, Google Play, andAmazon.
Autographed CDs are available to order here.
