The Real Regina

Exactly when I met Gary Regina, I'm still not sure. I was at least 19, maybe 20. I was a young music lover and he was a talented musician playing in a local Santa Cruz band called Special Fun. Because I made a habit of making myself invisible, Gary had no clue that I faithfully attended every show, sitting in the corner, alone or with friends, or sometimes with a date who I’d be paying absolutely no attention to. I was always focused on the music. Sometimes Gary and I would run into each other on the street and strike up a conversation about jazz. And once, when my car was in the shop, I walked across town to play him a Horace Parlan album I'd just discovered. But in 1989 I left California and we parted paths. And today, 20 years later, we've reconnected. He recently produced some great stuff for me for ESPN and will soon be scoring my film, “Cold Tea.” Gary is a New York native who lives in Northern California with his wife Sussie and their outrageously beautiful son, Jesse.