Globe Pequot / Backbeat
Pages: 264
Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-4930-5184-7 • Hardback • December 2020 • $27.95 • (£21.95)
978-1-4930-5185-4 • eBook • October 2020 • $26.50 • (£19.95)
Fred Taylor was born in Boston and grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Newton High School and Boston University. While at BU, he led his own group as a drummer. Upon graduation, he entered the family business selling Serta mattresses, where he worked for nine years. However, at night Taylor was in the music world, going to all the jazz clubs in Boston. With his first tape recorder, in 1952, he recorded Dave Brubeck’s group at George Wein’s Storyville nightclub. This led to Dave Brubeck being signed with Columbia Records. Taylor’s been working for 55 years with the greatest talents in the world of jazz, pop, and comedy.
Coauthor Richard Vacca is the author of Boston Jazz Chronicles: Faces, Places and Nightlife, 1937–1962. He has worked with Fred Taylor as a coauthor and manager of Taylor’s extensive collection of art, photos, and artifacts.
Paul's Mall was a wonderful music room, as Scullers is today, and Fred Taylor has always been about the music. Some places, the music is the last thing they think about, but that’s not the way it is here. Fred always makes sure everything's good, makes it feel like home. People like to come. Above all else, with Fred Taylor, the music is king.— Ramsey Lewis, American jazz composer, pianist, and radio personality
When I began my 30 year career as a journalist covering Arts & Entertainment for CBS Boston, it became immediately clear that Fred Taylor was as indispensable to the jazz scene as the artists he represents. Not only does he bring a deep love and understanding of music, but also a long and illustrious history of relationships with the artists themselves—legendary and young up-and-comers—and they trust him as much as I do. The consummate professional and a very easy man to work with, Freddie is a legacy unto himself.— Joyce Kulhawik, Emmy Award-winning arts and entertainment critic