At the heart of the project is Granci’s desire to move beyond traditional jazz structures, allowing the music to evolve continuously rather than return to fixed forms.

“I wanted the music to feel as close to ‘through-composed’ as possible – with minimal repetition,” she says. “When ideas return, they come back transformed, like a story unfolding.”

The album’s title track, To Some Place New, reflects that idea directly: music that gradually shifts from introspection and melancholy toward a sense of quiet hope, unfolding layer by layer as the narrative moves forward.

A formative influence on Granci’s approach has been composer and bandleader Maria Schneider, whose expansive writing first inspired her during her conservatoire studies.

“Maria Schneider’s compositions opened my ears to a completely different way of developing music.”

Another personal influence appears in Remembering John, dedicated to the late pianist John Taylor, whose work Granci studied closely while writing a thesis.

The project brings together musicians Granci met while studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama: vocalist Aitzi Cofre Real, alto saxophonist Harry Toulson, accordionist James Pettinger, bassist Ali Watson and drummer Ollie Peszynski. Their interplay helps shape the album’s distinctive palette, where improvisation meets carefully crafted composition.

Wordless vocals play a central role in the music’s atmosphere, enabling listeners to impart their own stories and feelings to the music.

With To Some Place New, Granci introduces a distinctive compositional voice shaped by storytelling, collaboration and a rich array of influences. The album marks the arrival of a thoughtful new artist on the London jazz scene – one whose music balances a deeply personal writing style with the openness and imagination of improvisation.