Bob Parlocha was born in
Solano, California, in 1938, to Maria Carter and Carlos Parlocha. His father was
Filipino American and his mother half-
black, half-Filipino. Parlocha's maternal grandparents, George Washington Carter Jr. and María Martínez, left their farm in the
Philippines to settle in
Vallejo, California; George Carter, a
Louisiana native, had served as a
Buffalo Soldier during the
Spanish–American War. Jazz remained a hobby for the next decade, while he worked as a
psychiatric nurse at
UCSF. He later attributed many of the interpersonal skills he employed in the music business to this experience. KJAZ owner Pat Henry's on-air invitation to prospective
DJs led Parlocha to submit a tape, prompting Henry to hire him as a programmer for the station's Saturday evenings. This resulted in Parlocha's appointment as host of the "Dinner Jazz Show," in 1978. As the show's ratings climbed, Parlocha's distinctive voice became familiar to jazz audiences throughout the
Bay Area. A thoughtful programmer, articulate spokesman for jazz, and analyst of the music scene, his "
master of ceremonies" style enhanced many jazz concerts and fundraisers over the subsequent years. His credits include the
Gil Evans Orchestra's concert at the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival, the
Berkeley Jazz Festival, Oakland Arts Explosion, Jazz at the Palace, Bay Area Jazz Awards, the San Francisco International KJAZ Festival, and as KJAZ host on the
SS Norway Jazz Cruises. ==Music director and producer==