Jazz musician/composer/writer, Frances initially studied Fine Art then gradually made a switch to jazz piano, beginning her apprenticeship by playing gigs around London and studying at Goldsmiths adult education with Howard Riley, eventually joining Guildhall School of Music jazz course. She's also a prolific songwriter/lyricist, and has won a European Musicians Federation songwriting prize.
She has worked with Alex Keen (3), Tony Coe, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Vince Clarke (2), Paul Booth, Jan Ponsford and many others.
Her musical experiences are wide-ranging, from standards to free music, as well as Argentinean Tango with the London-based Los Mareados. More recently, she created the duo Commonwork with viola player Geoffrey Richardson.

Frances Knight founded her own label "Mandeville Records".