Completing a critically-acclaimed trilogy following Songbook (2017) and Quiet Is The Star (2021), the latest collaboration between vocalist Georgia Mancio and pianist Alan Broadbent represents a compelling musical journey of emotional depth and artistic connection.

The album weaves together 10 songs exploring themes of memory, love, loss, and hope which showcase an exceptional songwriting partnership. Standout tracks include the poignant ‘From Me To You’, a sprightly, touching, light-as-air tribute to Mancio’s late father-in-law (a lifelong jazz fan), and the exquisite piano-vocal ballad ‘The Love I Left Behind (L’Amore Che Lasciai)’, which marks Mancio’s first time writing a lyric in her second language, Italian, with guidance from vocalist Diana Torti.

Prefaced by Cleyndert’s solo intro, the trio setting of ‘A Lark’s Lament’ seems to echo the unusually chromatic melodic line of ‘Cherry Tree’ from Songbook. Reflecting political turbulence on both sides of the Atlantic, the quartet arrangement of ‘Same Old Moon’ pulses with energy – great work here from Cleyndert and Ohm – while ‘Still We All Can Dream’ offers a hopeful counterpoint. A second piano-vocal ballad, ‘Heart Of Hearts’, resonates with a bittersweet beauty: Broadbent’s wondrous pianism and Mancio’s tender lyrics fuse in the most powerful way.

And then, the final surprise: the remarkable orchestral title track where Mahlerian horn, tintinnabulating glockenspiel, tremolando strings and an utterly beguiling melodic line combine in ways which would have Bernard Herrmann nodding in approval. It closes one of the finest vocal jazz albums of this or any other year.