Gavin, a product of the acclaimed Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, accepted a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied for two years as a classical performance major, before returning to the Bay Area to team up with fellow Berkeley High stable mate, Joshi Marshall. They soon began studying and performing with Joshi's father, longtime Bay Area jazz bass stalwart, Fred Marshall, in the avant garde ensemble Marshall Arts. During that time, Gavin and Joshi started two other well received groups, Groove Shop and Daddy Goddus, and became mainstays of the 90's S.F. acid-jazz scene, working with groups such as The Mo'Fessionals, Fungo Mungo, Alphabet Soup, Jungle Biskit and Human Flavor to name a few. After a few years of writing and working his own band, the Gavin DiStasi Ensemble, he re-united with Joshi, and trombonist Marty Wehner in the well known group Mingus Amungus in 1998. A few years later, Gavin met and first played with Jamaican reggae legend Don Carlos, of Black Uhuru fame. It was during this time, after bringing Joshi into the reggae fold, that the idea of the left coast horns first began to take shape. Backing Jamaican artists, such as The Abyssinians, The Mighty Diamonds, Big Youth, Sister Carol, Charlie Chaplin and many others, the left coast horns, along with a powerhouse rhythm section, formed Dub Vision, which remains the permanent backing band for Don Carlos, and works with many of the top names in reggae music. Recently, Gavin and the left coast horns have worked with up and coming neo soul singer Goapele and her band the Heat, as well as adding their flavor to Phil Lesh and Friends December 2004 Warfield shows. In August 2005, Gavin and the full left coast horns section joined the Black Crowes for their live dvd recording at the Fillmore, which should be released sometime in 2006.