Now Venissa Santi for all of us!

Venissa Santi, a Cuban-American jazz vocalist and composer, seamlessly blends Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz, creating a unique cultural fusion. Born in Ithaca, New York, Santi’s musical journey is deeply rooted in her heritage. Her grandfather, Cuban composer Jacobo Ros Capablanca, instilled in her a lifelong passion for music. Growing up, she was immersed in an eclectic mix of Ravel, Celia Cruz, Michael Jackson, Joan Baez, jazz, and musical theater. She developed a strong ear for harmony, singing with her mother and best friend, and honed her skills at the Hangar Theatre. Initially drawn to theater, she soon realized she belonged in the band.

Bienvenida, Venissa: A Cuban-American Jazz Voice Arrives

In the intimate setting of Ithaca’s Downstairs Club, something transformative occurred. A voice emerged—smoky, radiant, unforgettable. It belonged to Venissa Santi, a Cuban-American artist whose sound transcends geography, genre, and generation. Drawing deeply from the traditions of jazz and Afro-Cuban songs, Santi delivers music that is both rooted and revolutionary. As pianist and educator Danilo Pérez put it, “Her voice has a tone that is very original and very special … you hear that voice, and you won’t forget it.” (1)

That voice is now making itself heard on a broader scale with the release of Bienvenida, Santi’s debut for Sunnyside Records. It’s an album that signals the arrival of a new kind of jazz singer: one who lives comfortably at the crossroads of cultural identity, honoring both her American upbringing and her Cuban heritage. With multilingual phrasing and rhythmic flexibility, Santi joins the ranks of globally attuned vocalists like Claudia Acuña and Luciana Souza, artists who reflect the ever-evolving face of 21st-century jazz.

“I am a proud jazz singer,” Santi says. “That technique is my guide to practice and health. I had to keep going from there. Although I grew up in the U.S., Cuban music always found me, and it made me go crazy in love with it.”

Philadelphia Roots, Havana Heart

Born in Ithaca, New York, on May 10, 1978, Santi eventually made her way to Philadelphia, where she immersed herself in jazz studies and refined her technique. The turning point came when she uncovered a forgotten treasure: a portfolio of compositions by her late grandfather. This Cuban songwriter lived through the golden age of Havana’s music scene in the 1940s before emigrating in 1961.

“He was not a fighter,” Santi explains. “Selling a small share, he was all too often a victim of stolen hard work and effort.” But I inherited his compositions. When I had them played for me by a pianist in Philly, I knew I had to sing them one day. ‘Lucerito de Mi Amor’ should be a part of the Cuban standard repertoire.”

That sense of duty—to family, to heritage, to music—set her on a path that eventually led her to Cuba. There, she lived among relatives and trained with master singers in the traditions of ocha (religious chants) and rumba (secular rhythms), gaining authenticity not just through study but through lived experience.

“I realized that singing in the Cuban style would take some woodshedding on my part,” she recalls with humility. “I was taken in by my blood relatives and lived as a voice student of some of Cuba’s most beloved Ocha and rumba singers.”

Multilingual, Multicultural, Multi-Dimensional

Bienvenida is more than an album—it’s an invitation into Santi’s world. Mixing American jazz standards, Cuban folklore, and original compositions, the record spans emotional terrain as much as it does musically. Her influences—Billie Holiday, Betty Carter, Celia Cruz—are all evident but never imitated. Santi sings in English and Spanish, at times seamlessly blending the two, and always with a tone that is uniquely hers.

“My artistry of singing Afro-Cuban and jazz was born from the necessity to express the musical influences that nourish my spirit as a Cuban American,” Santi says. “The challenge might be when I ask: Are people ready for this? Will people get it? Can non-Spanish-speaking people appreciate this? Will Latinos dig it? My goal is for this release to find a broad audience.

With Bienvenida, the answer is yes. People are ready. And those who hear it will not forget the name Venissa Santi.

An Artist to Watch

Santi represents a growing wave of artists refusing to be boxed in by genre or nationality. Her music is diasporic and deliberate—a meeting place for jazz improvisation and Cuban soul, guided by the discipline of jazz but sparked by something deeper, more ancestral.

“This journey has been instrumental in answering many of my life’s questions as an artist and a Latina,” she says. “I’m pleased to present the soundtrack of my life’s journey thus far.”

We are, too. From the Downstairs Club in Ithaca to international stages yet to come, Venissa Santi is charting a path all her own—and taking us along for the ride.

(1) Venissa Santi – Big Stuff—Afro-Cuban Holiday – Latin Jazz Network.