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Behold...a woman whose time has finally come. After being the go-to singer for an astounding and diverse roster of musical talents that includes Phil Collins, Patti Austin, Stevie Wonder, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Yolanda Adams, Norman Brown, Bill Withers, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston and Seal, this lady is ready for the world to hear her voice, her music and her story. The lady is Lynne Fiddmont and her first step toward total self-expression is her life-affirming debut album, Flow (released on the lady's own boldly named recording imprint, MidLife Records).
Flow is a 9-song collection of melodic, jazzy soul songs for which Lynne composed all but one. Beyond writing and singing, Lynne also produced the project, learning Pro Tools and other advanced studio techniques to ensure that she had a hand in every aspect of its creation. All of her hard-earned time in studios and on the road working amongst the very best the business (in all fields) has prepared Ms. Fiddmont for her maiden voyage as a complete artist in her own right. The key has been getting in tune with personal goals...and going with the flow. "Flow is the developing philosophy for my life right now," Lynne explains. "As things occur, you can either fight them or go with them, figuring out solutions and making the best of a challenging situation."
Flow marks Fiddmont time! "You know," she muses, "I've never felt that before...but I feel it now! It's been great doing things that were once 'off limits,' like producing or Pro Tools. I called in many of my favorite bass players (the instrument of her heart) and even had to tell one of them to go home after I felt the part he played was sufficient! There aren't many women producing, editing and recording. I refuse to be limited. I want to express my full potential, whatever that is. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I feel like I'm finally getting that...and its great!"
Lynne Fiddmont has been giving people something they can feel from a very young age. Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Lynne and her whole family sang, so she never thought anything special about it. She began to take her gift a little more seriously when she sang "Home" as "Dorothy" in a high school production of The Wiz and received a standing ovation. Her original musical goal was to clock dollars as a session and jingle singer, and eventually become a singing/songwriting star like Lionel Richie, or a songwriter for hire like Dianne Warren. "I want to make money while I sleep," she purrs!
As a young vocalist, Lynne dabbled in bands, coffee houses and talent shows. However, her first professional gig came after Jerry Williams sent a tape of her singing voice to Wilton Felder of the Crusaders. The reply was they wanted her for their next tour. So away she went, singing Randy Crawford staples such as "Street Life" and "One Day I'll Fly Away" with the jazz masters all across the country.
Lynne attended Drake University for one year but spent her last three college years at Boston University. After receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations, she decided to make a bold career shift to that of singing. One day while singing on the streets of Boston, a Berklee faculty member offered Lynne a scholarship. She seized the opportunity to cram in every class she could for a year - the jazz, rock AND recording ensembles - then moved to Los Angeles in 1985. Gigs with Bill Withers (on the reclusive legend's final "Watching You, Watching Me Tour") and the immortal Lou Rawls led to a lengthy association with Stevie Wonder. She got the coveted background vocalist slot in his touring/recording group Wonderlove by singing an impromptu version of the Whitney Houston hit, "Saving All My Love for You”.
While Lynne's professional focus has exclusively been singing - for and with others - her talents remain wide and impossible to pigeonhole. One accomplishment of which she is most proud is her work with legendary jazz keyboardist Joe Zawinul and his group The Zawinul Syndicate. "I toured with Joe - playing percussion, keyboards AND singing - while I was carrying my first child," she says laughing. "I got the gig just before I found out I was pregnant. I thought he was going to have to let me go. When I told him, he said in his thick Austrian accent, 'What better thing to show than life!' I love him for that." Today, Lynne's still doing it, playing percussion and singing with smooth jazz guitarist Norman Brown, and touring with pop music giant Phil Collins' on his "First Final Farewell Tour."
Lynne has been relishing the process of creating and promoting both her music and herself. She got the push to pursue her first album while in the middle of one of her voice-for-hire gigs. "I was recording some radio station i.d's for 'The Wave' and Jeff Koz (saxophonist Dave Koz's brother at Hum Music). The program director Paul Goldstein happened to be there. After listening to me sing, a few takes, he said, 'Wow! If you do a record, I'll play it!'"
Aside from recording and touring, Lynne Fiddmont is an active, early-rising mother of two who makes time to referee her children's soccer and basketball games. She has also expanded her creative energies into acting, playing the great Billie Holiday in Maurice Kitchen's unique "murder mystery musical," Dark Legends in Blood.
So if there is one message Lynne would like to get across to the music industry with its reams of demographic breakout charts and such, it is this: Life Does Not End At 20! "I don't support the idea that more mature audiences are the 'wrong demographic,'" she states. "It's not wise that the music world is so youth-driven. Think about what you know at 20 vs. what you have to offer and say later on. If you cut people off who have life experience and/or musical experience, then you're missing out on some interesting things that may benefit the music community and the community at large. In ancient communities, elders were looked up to with reverence. We need to pull some of that back!'"
Lynne Fiddmont - singer, songwriter, producer and MidLife Records entrepreneur - stands in the delicate balance of actively pursuing her dreams while trusting in the divine mystery that shapes all of our lives. "So many people reach a certain age or point in their lives when they stop dreaming and stop trusting," she concludes. While always an achiever, Lynne adds, "I feel like I'm just learning to trust in the flow of life...and you can't lose with that combination." Behold: a woman in full-on Flow mode!
www.lynnefiddmont.com
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