Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1215963
Learn more about Reginald's music and listen to sample tracks at reginaldpinckney.com Reginald Pinckney grew up in a poor neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida. Former residents recall a slaughter- house and a garbage incinerator on the same block as the elementary school. "Survival was the name of the game," Reginald says. "Families did whatever they could to get by." Reginald's parents sold bootlegged whiskey and ran an "after-hours joint" behind the family home. Reginald sang along with the jukebox for a nickel per song. "From Otis Redding to Billie Holiday, I learned every '45' on the box," he recalls. He sang anywhere he could, including church. For him, music was fun, but it was also an escape. The Florida of Reginald's youth struggled through desegregation. In third grade, Regi- nald's mother walked him by picketers attempting to stop school integration. "They were hitting the kids with picket signs," Reginald says. Through the difficulties, Reginald kept singing. He also learned to play the saxophone. He graduated high school with a partial music scholarship to Flor- ida A&M. Financially, it wasn't enough, so Reginald joined the Air Force. He spent four years in the service, then worked for an insurance company in Alaska and San Diego. When the com- pany dissolved, Reginald packed a suit- case and his voice and headed for Paris. A detour led him to the Czech Republic. "The trio happened by chance," he says. "My first piano player was British and my bass player was a minister. We gigged around Prague." The Reginald Pinckney Trio eventually toured throughout Eastern Europe, with Reginald's soulful voice leading. He never did move to Paris. "I fell in love with the Czech Republic," he says. In 1997, Reginald returned to Jack- sonville, but the one-time child jukebox singer had long since outgrown his hometown. A friend recommended Seattle, and Reginald packed his bags. Soon afterward, he landed a consulting position and joined the WAC for networking. He released his first album in 2004 followed by "Reginald Live" in 2017. He hopes to put out a third album in 2020. "The new one is about lessons learned," he says. "It's an aching in my heart that I've wanted to do for some time now." PINCKNEY REGINALD