ritaj6068@aol.com
Rita Jackson began singing as a schoolgirl. She loved singing while standing beside her father as he played the Lowery organ in the living room. There she began to learn many of today's great standards. At the young age of 14, she was accepted for private voice study with Mia Novich of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Rita went on to college and was graduated from Pennsylvania State University. While in college, she was the featured vocalist with a progressive jazz band called Bravura, a 20-piece dance band called The State College Dance Band, a small off-shoot called The Four Jacks, and a piano/voice duo called Skip and Rita.
After moving to New York City, she continued her love of the American songbook while beginning to write her own songs. She wrote "The Basket Song" in the long running show "Dressing Room Divas" that played in New York's Greenwich Village, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Rita joined a band called Mirage for a short time and played New York City's pop/rock clubs. Soon after that she formed her own band and performed originals at local festivals, the Sidewalk Café, and other clubs. She then discovered cabaret and had many shows at Greene Street, Eighty Eight's, and other New York venues. She sang background on sax player Chico Freeman's album Brainstorm and also on Nate Fitzgerald's Champagne Sketches. Rita also wrote the score to the short film Chris' 30 which premiered at the New York Film Festival.
Always loving the standards and remembering her influences: Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, The Mills Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Steve and Edie, and Julie London, she continued to craft her own original music and has over 100 songs to her credit. Rita Jackson on the Town is a CD of her original songs and some of the classics.
