Milena Granci | To Some Place New | May 14, 2026
French-Italian pianist and composer Milena Granci introduces To Some Place New (May 14th, 2026), a striking debut that blends contemporary jazz with folk lyricism and cinematic atmosphere. Based in London, Granci leads a six-piece ensemble whose music unfolds like a journey – built on flowing melodies, layered harmonies and an expansive, emotionally rich sound world.
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.
Line up
Milena Granci | Piano, Compositions
Aitzi Cofre Real | Vocals
Harry Toulson | Alto Saxophone
James Pettinger | Accordion
Ali Watson | Double Bass
Ollie Peszynski | Drums
Track Listing
Floating
When You Feel Like It
Maria’s Song
Different Road
To Some Place New
A Journey Home
Remembering John
Lament
PR Quotes
Jazz Views (UK)
“To Some Place New is a patient, assured debut from a composer who already knows what she wants to say — and an ensemble that doesn’t accompany the compositions so much as inhabit them”
Paris-move (FR)
“For audiences drawn to jazz that leans toward classical textures, cinematic storytelling, and carefully sculpted emotional atmospheres, To Some Place New offers an experience that feels elegant, intelligent, and quietly transporting”
Jazz in Family (IT)
“Milena Granci builds a language made of subtraction, listening, attention”
JazzMania (BE)
“An original debut, a musician to support, and all of this certainly deserves our approval.”
Blue in Green (UK)
“As part of the project’s efforts to transport itself and its listeners to some place new by the album’s conclusion, we are afforded the opportunity to do so through an artist that honours reflection as much as the notion of persevering onwards.“
Jazzthetik (DE)
“The album’s sound and its expressive solo performances convey an uplifting, positive spirit that remains present even in the slower, wistful, romantically colored musical narratives. A captivating debut that could open many doors—and should”
Jazz.in (JP)
“The music is unconstrained by conventional forms and reflects a broad, personal compositional vision.”
Musik an sich (DE)
“The music has a broad, expansive expression and an epic power; one can feel like one is being entertained by the narrative, prompted to create personal images in one’s mind by what is being performed”
Esensja (PL)
“She is a pianist and composer of great talent, very emotional and open to inspiration”
Hilary Seabrook (UK)
“From the opening piano chords of Floating through to the final chord of Lament, this album allows the listener to explore the recesses of memory and imagination, with a huge range of cinematic, contemporary jazz melodies and arrangements.”
Cuttings
