But the 24-year-old who took up singing lessons at age9 considers herself a jazz singer by trade.

``I grew up listening to the classics, like Barbara Streisand and Bette Midler, but I was always into everything.''

Her love of singing combined with her love of piano which she took up at a tender age7.

By 16 she was writing songs and by 18 she was performing gigs and working with some of Sydney's finest jazz musicians.

``I always knew what I wanted to do it was just what direction my singing would take,'' she said.

After completing a Bachelor of Creative Arts and Performance at Wollongong University, Alisa began working with a seven-piece band and jazz quartet to develop her own sound.

In January this year, she decided to produce her own album, a collection of songs she had written herself and some she had written with her guitarist, Sam Dowling.

She described the writing process as ``difficult but rewarding''. ``Sometimes I could sit at the piano and write a song in 30 minutes, other times it took a couple of months.''

Alisa will launch her album, Take Off, on Saturday, September15 and will perform at the Brass Monkey at Cronulla on Thursday, October8 and the Manly Boatshed on Thursday, October15.

Details: alisafedele.com.