Growing up with her Barese (Southern Italian) grandfather in New York, Vanessa learned Italian American classics at an early age. After her grandfather passed, Vanessa was inspired to reinvent the Italian American classics that he taught her with modern jazz arrangements. So, she teamed up with Gianni Valenti of Birdland Jazz Club, NYC, producer, David Finck, and Manhattan Transfer arranger, Yaron Gershovsky, to realize her vision.

The result was a sold- out show at Birdland on June, 2017 and a very unique album entitled, Italiana Fresca (Fresh Italian), that reached #65 on the jazz charts. Since then, she has performed at over 70 Italian festivals and jazz clubs across the country and has been heard on over 20 Italian radio stations across the US and Italy.