Cat’s Corner is sad to inform our guests of the recent loss of Regina Maria Pontillo, a wonderful woman and jazz vocalist who frequented our stage on Wednesday nights. Regina passed away the weekend of February 26th, 2012 from complications to a asthma attack. She was a vibrant woman, with many good years ahead of her, and her passing was sudden and leaves us deeply saddened.
Above all, Regina loved to sing, a passion that she pursued with vigor despite a lifelong battle with asthma. Her desire to sing, dance and perform led her to leave her native Chicago to seek out jazz greats all over the world, including New York, London, New Orleans and finally San Francisco. Cat’s Corner first met Regina as a guest vocalist along with Johnny Bones & His Palace of Jazz, and soon after Regina offered to bring her own swinging combo – the Fantastic Swingtime Band led by Si Perkoff – out to play for us dancers. Trained as a dancer herself, Regina had a keen sense of what tempos, rhythms and music styles dancers could groove to, and her swinging song selections made her one of our favorites for dancing Charleston, Balboa and uptempo swing.
This Wednesday, March 14, Cat’s Corner will host a music and dance tribute to Regina Maria Pontillo. Si Perkoff and the Fantastic Swingtime Band will perform starting at 9:30pm and musicians and singers who knew Regina are invited to come jam with the band and celebrate her life and musical contributions. Donations will be collected to support Regina’s daughter and family. To make this a classy night, we encourage everyone to dress their best.