Rita Moss

Rita Moss is an American jazz and ballad singer born in Akron, Ohio, notable for her 4-octave vocal range. Although she took piano lessons as a child, she is a mostly self-taught multi-instrumentalist who can play piano, organ and drums. Moss grew up in Long Island, New York, and credits the discovery of her vocal range talent to her singing along to saxophonist Freddy Gardner's recording of "Body and Soul", a record she had turned up in a Manhattan store bargain bin.

She first came to attention following a debut at New York's Park Avenue Restaurant, where public reception led to a stay of over 7 months. Appearances in London, Ontario and Cleveland, Ohio followed, including performances at jazz DJ and impresario Leonard Feather's concerts. Initially billed as "Reta" Moss, her first single was released in January 1950 on Futurama Records, a local label run by Main Stem record store owner Arthur Bangel. Bangel formed Futurama to cut jazz, blues and rhythm, including artists involved in Feathers' contemporary bop concerts at Carnegie Hall.

In the early 1950s Moss cut a few singles on Debonair, Decca and Mercury, including a 4 song EP on Clef (Verve) in 1952 with Chicago's George Williams Orchestra, although her first LP, Introducing Rita Moss, would be issued by Epic Records only in 1956. The selections were standards by the likes of Hart, Rodgers, Gershwin, Webster and Ellington; the release was notable in that one number was an original by Moss. A brief review in Billboard notes her "remarkable" vocal range and "breezy whimsical style". In 1956, she headlined at the Living Room night club in New York, and in 1957, decided to head for the West Coast.

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