The series title "Sakamichi no Apollon", means "Apollo of the Slope". Apollo is the Greek god of music.
In the last episode, when Richi is at his home, you can see the calendar displaying November 1968. This means the series is set in the year around 1967 to 1969.
This is Shin'ichirô Watanabe's first anime as the series director that is based on a previously published material.