About Basho Records

Basho Records was originally founded by Max Steuer in 1992 . Since 2002 Max’s wife, Christine Allen, has been CEO of the company and also runs Basho Music, an artist management company that works with the artists on our label.

We like to take on distinctive and original projects and work closely with artists from the beginning of their project.

After a career in linguistics and language teaching, Christine became involved in hot air ballooning gaining her professional pilot’s licence and instructor rating. In 1988, with the law about to change, she founded one of the first UK businesses offering balloon rides to the public.  In 1994 she sold the business to Richard Branson and set up Virgin Balloon Flights with operations in Europe, Egypt, Oman and the UK.  Leaving Virgin in 1997 she worked for a year as a business consultant to the activities specialist Red Letter Days.  Convinced by the possibilities of the internet, she founded Jazzcds offering musicians a way of reaching a broader market. She also set up Basho Music working for jazz musicians as an agent and revived Basho Records which had been founded in 1992 by her husband Max Steuer.

Max Steuer is an economist at the London School of Economics.