Palo Alto Records was a jazz record company and label that released most of its discography in the 1980s. [1] The label was founded in 1981 by Jim Benham, who lived in Palo Alto, California. He played trumpet in a big band and was chairman of the Benham Capital Management Group. Herb Wong, an educator and disc jockey in San Francisco, was artistic director until 1985. The Palo Alto office closed that year, but the label moved to Studio City. [2] Palo Alto also operated a sublabel, TBA Records, which recorded Alvin Hayes, George Howard, and Rare Silk.
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States. It originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as "America's classical music". Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage with a performance orientation. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music. Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as "one of America's original art forms".
Palo Alto is a charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Palo Alto means tall stick in Spanish; the city is named after a coastal redwood tree called El Palo Alto.
Alvin Hayes is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. His album Star Gaze reached No. 21 on contemporary jazz album chart at Billboard magazine, while Passion Flower reached No. 13. Hayes's band included guitarist Scott Carter, who recorded with him for both the TBA and Palo Alto labels.
