Artist page

Rita DaCosta Turrentine was an internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist and the former wife of renowned saxophonist. She performed with numerous jazz legends, including Freddie Hubbard, Lonnie Liston Smith, Grady Tate, Bobby Timmons, Ron Carter, Jackie McLean, Jon Lucien, Harry Whitaker, as well as the Monty Alexander, Cedar Walton, and Danny Mixon trios. Her achievements are honored with a plaque at the Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. In the late 1980s, Rita semi-retired from performing and transitioned into modeling, costuming, and coaching, working with stars such as Sarah Dash, Regina Belle, Diana Krall, Rhonda Ross, Nnenna Freelon, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Edna Holt, Cynthia Holiday, Gerre Samuels, and Nina Lopez-Glenn, among others. Rita's final concert, directed by Roger Daniels, was Jammin On The Hudson at The Riverbank State Park in 2003. Although she was scheduled to perform with the orchestra in August, Rita passed away on July 12, 2004, after a brief illness.

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