Regina Maria Pontillo descended upon the earth in Chicago 1962 to an Italian father and a Mexican mother. Though her mother had no formal musical education, she had a mean "snap" that firmly accentuated the pulse of any piece and brought out the boogaloo in any song. Regina acquired her sense of music, dance and comedy mainly from her mother. She learned later in life that her great-grandfather had traveled on foot with his family from Mexico to Chicago playing the guitar and singing for the railroad workers. It was not until Regina first danced to music at her uncle's wedding that she realized there was a place for her in the world. As a child she greatly admired Charles Chaplin, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. They were her beacons throughout her young years.
It was after high school that she began pursuing her interest in the performing arts. She went to Columbia College to study dance and theater, later going on to study dramatic arts in London, England. It was there she began to yearn for the jazz standards and the stories they could tell. She began to sing in local pubs and tried her hand as a stand up comic.
After some success she returned to the States. She moved to San Diego to pursue jazz and dance full force and had the good fortune to meet the real deal. She played with folks such as Leon Petties and Sy Rainey, seasoned musicians that had played with all her favorite singers such as Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughn, and Nat King Cole.
A year later she moved to San Francisco to meet her contemporaries. She hooked up with a great singer and friend, Arlis Tyner, and together they hit the streets with their Tin Pan Alley style of music. With his support, she learned rhythm on the ukulele and learned a great deal about singing. She then moved into a bus on her own accord and immersed herself in the country and bluegrass tradition while spending time doing backup vocals and harmonies for a country and blues band in the city.
It was after that she moved to New Orleans and sang on Bourbon and Royal Street during the jazz festival season. New Orleans Jazz was a style that resonated deeply with her on a physical level. She fell in love with the sound of the piano playing a lazy blues in the southern heat and the upbeat salutation of horns intricately dancing and illuminating the listener for an all out Halleluiah finale.
Regina spent a year performing solo and studying dance when one fine day the heavens parted and she heard the most wonderful sound on the radio. It was The Hot Club of San Francisco. Already a big fan of Django's, she was tickled to hear this style of music in her own town. It was Paul Mehling who generously introduced her to all the fine players the Bay Area offered. She then began playing with veterans Richard Hadlock, Bob Mielke, Peter Allen and Bill Napier whenever the occasion called for such fine players.
While playing with The Hot Club, she formed her own western swing band and played locally with folks such as Tony Marcus, Bobby Black, Brian Godsxeau and Billy Wilson. She has been fortunate to perform at many fine establishments including Gracie's, Susie Kates, Enrico's, Yoshi's, Freight and Salvage, Cafe Du Nord, Fizz, Mambo Mambo, many wineries in Sonoma and the San Francisco Jazz Festival.
She then moved on to play in Black Diamond Blue Five, a Dixieland band that modeled themselves after Louis Armstrong's Hot Five Band. They toured all the festivals in California. Its members were the precocious Clint Baker, Marty Eggers, George Noblock, Robert Young and a sometimes very playful Ralph Carney.
She has had the great pleasure of working with stride pianist Mike Lipskin, vibes, flute and sax man Roger Glenn, Michael Groh, Chris Grampp, Michael Moore, Gerry Groz and the very talented Johnny Bones.
