VANESSA RACCI
About Vanessa
Vanessa Racci is a touring Jazz vocalist who is equally comfortable singing straight-ahead Jazz as well as music that reflects her Italian heritage. Descended from Southern Italian immigrants, she grew up living with her Barese grandfather, who played Jazz and Italian classics throughout the house. This inspired her to combine her two loves of Jazz and Italian heritage in her first self-released album, Italiana Fresca, in 2017, produced by David Finck and arranged by Yaron Gershovsky of Manhattan Transfer.
After debuting her music to a sold-out crowd at Birdland Jazz Club and touring it around the country 2017-2019, Vanessa was inspired to record her second album after visiting the Jazz and Italian American museums of New Orleans. Her sophomore album, Jazzy Italian (Zoho Jazz Label, 2022), celebrates Italian Americans who made their mark on Jazz from Louis Prima to Chick Corea. Produced and arranged by Grammy winner, Steven Feifke, Jazzy Italian made the top 10 Traditional Jazz albums of 2022 on the RMR jazz chart and is programmed on Siriusly Sinatra, NPR and network television in addition to 150+ radio stations globally. Her music also recently made the coveted Spotify playlist, Italian Dinner Party.
Vanessa is currently working on her next project, which will focus on the straight-ahead American Jazz that inspired her career. She also produces and performs in several other Jazz history shows including Hot Speakeasy Nights (A modern take on the music that defined prohibition), An Ode to Gershwin and a Tribute to Harry Warren.
Vanessa performs at over 50 venues and festivals across the country annually from New York to New Orleans to San Francisco with a social media following of 15K+. Notable appearances include ABC7NY, Birdland, Gracie Mansion, The Paramount, White Plains Jazz Festival and the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. When she isn’t performing, she teaches voice at her home studio and at Music in Chappaqua. Vanessa studied Jazz voice at SUNY Purchase with Alexis Cole and privately with Jackie Presti.