For those unaware, on her ZOHO debut, and second studio recording released in late 2022, New York based singer, Vanessa Racci revisited songs by Italians and Italian-Americans who left their mark on jazz, from Nick LaRocca to Frank Sinatra to Louis Prima, Chick Corea and John Pizzarelli.

The gifted pianists/arrangers Steven Feifke and Glafkos Kontemeniotis provided creative horn writing and harmonic and metric alterations to bring even century-old songs into the present.

And as one would fully expect, Vanessa’s sultry vocal style combined a tart, brassy, catch-in-the-throat sound with Italianate ardor, dramatic flair, and swing on the magnificently-hued Jazzy Italian (now out on vinyl LP, August 11th, 2023) - James Gavin.

Side A:
1. Betcha I Getcha
2. Volare
3. At The Jazz Band Ball
4. Moon River
5. Coquette
6. Make Love To Me
7. I’m A Fool To Want You

Revisiting this vibrantly cultivated, wholly heartfelt, and genuinely sentimental-to-the-core vinyl LP, Side A opens on the gentle hipsway bed found within the skit-skatish swinging inflections of Betcha I Getcha and the Latin-imbued harmonies of the quietly frenetic Volare, and then Vanessa brings us the finger-snapping foot-tapper At The Jazz Band Ball, the veritably glistening Moon River and then the playfully flirty Coquette, the Latin-embedded flair of Make Love To Me, and then the moody I’m A Fool To Want You.

Side B:
8. A Lifetime Or Two
9. A Sunday Kind of Love
10. Come Back Home With Me
11. September In The Rain
12. You’re Everything
13. At Last

Flipping the vinyl record over, which I still love to do, even after all these years, Side B of this delightful album (originally entitled Italiana Fresca) opens with the upbeat bounce of A Lifetime Or Two and the sumptuously divine A Sunday Kind of Love, and they are in turn backed by the infectiously impassioned Come Back Home With Me, the effortlessly smooth September In The Rain, the album coming to an all-too-soon close on the measured melodies within the drum-led You’re Everything and a mesmerizing, dutifully sculpted rendition of At Last.

Growing up with her Southern Italian grandfather in New York, Vanessa learned Italian American classics and jazz at an early age, hearing Dean Martin, Connie Francis, Frank Sinatra and the like played throughout the house. She developed as a singer in musical theater (starring in professional theater at age 12), discovered her love for jazz in her 20’s and started touring with a trio.

After her grandfather passed away, Vanessa was inspired to reinvent the Italian classics that he taught her with modern jazz arrangements to keep the music alive for future generations.

She teamed up with Gianni Valenti of Birdland Jazz Club, producer, David Finck, and Manhattan Transfer arranger, Yaron Gershovsky, to realize her vision.

The result was a sold-out album release show at Birdland in June, 2017 and a unique album entitled, Italiana Fresca, that reached #65 on the jazz charts.

Since then, she has performed at over 70 festivals, events and jazz clubs across the country and has been played on over 20 Italian radio stations across the US and Italy.

Official Website

Vanessa Racci @ Official Facebook Page

Vanessa Racci @ Official Instgram Page