Lynne Arriale and several other jazz musicians played a tribute concert at Dinkelspiel Auditorium on the Stanford campus in February, 2014 in honor of the famous scientist Leonard Herzenberg, of the Herzenberg Lab, who died last fall.

Herzenberg’s daughter is Jana Herzen, an artist and label owner, who grew up on campus and is now based in New York City. I believe the label name “motema” means “heart” in a Congolese dialect. The performers all record for her label.

I don’t know the family, nor did I attend the concert, although I would have liked to. Someone mentioned to me earlier today, however, that her friend Jana, the founder of Motema, was from Palo Alto. (The closest my jazz world overlaps with Motema is that Jacques Schwarz-Bart, a saxophonist who leads a recent session on the label, once played the Cubberley Sessions as a sideman for Blue Note recording artist James Hurt. And that Babatunde Lea, who recorded for that label, also participated in 2003 in Say It Thru Song, a workshop in the Vallejo school district that was organized by my friend Tracey Hartwell. And also last night even, at Paula Kirkeby’s 80th birthday party, the bandleader was Akira Tana, who has or had a duo project with Motema artist Rufus Reid, a bassist. I’m going to amend my “Jazz History of Palo Alto” article to include Jana Herzen’s history here).