2020 Memorial Tribute Event

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Celebrating life and legacy, the legendary jazz impresario, Fred Taylor Memorial Tribute Event

          Streamed on YouTube & FaceBook on December 7, 2020, 8pm ​ET

Lineup​ ​includes​ Diana Krall, Esperanza Spalding, Kurt​ ​Elling,​ ​Danilo​ ​Pérez,​ ​Terri​ ​Lyne​ ​Carrington,​ ​Grace​ ​Kelly, Monty Alexander, Catherine​ ​Russell,​ ​Kat​ ​Edmonson,​ ​John​ ​Patitucci,​ ​Jason​ ​Palmer,​ ​James​ ​Montgomery,​ ​Bo Winiker,​ ​and​ ​a​ ​special​ ​appearance​ ​by​ ​Pat​ ​Metheny, Roger Brown, Harry Connick Jr., Robin Young, and others.

The​ ​continuing​ ​legacy​ ​of​ ​iconic​ ​Boston​ ​music​ ​promoter,​ ​Fred​ ​Taylor​ ​is being​ ​honored​ ​by the release of his memoir, What, And Give Up Showbiz?, and by​ ​the​ continuation ​of​ ​the​ ​​Fred​ ​Taylor​ ​Endowed​ ​Scholarship​ ​Fund​,​ ​​designed​ ​to nurture​ ​gifted​ ​and​ ​deserving​ ​Berklee​ ​students​ ​in​ ​need​ ​of​ ​financial​ ​assistance​ ​and​ ​who​ ​are​ ​studying Music​ ​Business ​or​ ​Professional​ ​Music​. 

Diana Krall, Esperanza Spalding, Kurt​ ​Elling,​ ​Danilo​ ​Pérez,​ ​Terri​ ​Lyne​ ​Carrington,​ ​Grace​ ​Kelly,​ Monty Alexander, ​Catherine​ ​Russell,​ ​Kat​ ​Edmonson,​ ​John Patitucci,​ ​Jason​ ​Palmer,​ ​James​ ​Montgomery,​ ​and​ ​Bo​ ​Winiker​ ​performed​ ​​to​ ​celebrate Taylor​ ​and​ ​raise​ ​funds​ ​for​ ​the​ ​scholarship.​ ​The​ ​event ​​also​ ​features​ ​a​ ​special​ ​appearance​ ​by​ ​Pat Metheny​, Roger Brown, Harry Connick Jr., ​Robin Young, and​ ​others​. ​Berklee​ ​alumna​ ​Grace​ ​Kelly,​ ​who​ ​organized the​ All-Star ​concert​ ​and​ spearheaded establishing the endowed ​scholarship,​ ​ ​produced hosts the​ virtual memorial ​tribute event. 

Taylor​ ​was​ ​an​ ​unparalleled​ ​driving​ ​force​ ​in​ ​making​ ​Boston​ ​a​ ​great​ ​music​ ​city.​ ​For​ ​more​ ​than six ​decades,​ ​Taylor—Boston's​ ​ageless,​ ​irrepressible​​impresario—devoted​ ​his​ ​life​ ​to​ ​nurturing gifted​ ​artists,​ ​presenting​ ​the​ ​who's​ ​who​ ​in​ ​jazz​ ​and​ ​beyond,​ ​and​ ​providing​ ​grateful​ ​audiences​ ​with extraordinary​ ​listening​ ​experiences.​ ​He​ ​did​ ​so​ ​at​ ​his​ ​legendary​ ​clubs​ ​Paul's​ ​Mall​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Jazz Workshop;​ ​as​ ​the​ ​artistic​ ​director​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Tanglewood​ ​Jazz​ ​Festival​ ​from​ ​2001​ ​to​ ​2007;​ ​and​ ​over​ ​the course​ ​of​ ​more​ ​than​ ​27 ​years as​ ​artistic​ ​director​ ​of​ ​Scullers​ ​Jazz​ ​Club.  

Taylor​​ ​presented​ ​artists​ ​such​ ​as​ ​Duke​ ​Ellington,​ ​Dizzy​ ​Gillespie,​ ​John​ ​Coltrane,​ ​Miles​ ​Davis,​ ​Stan Getz,​ ​Charles​ ​Mingus,​ ​Bob​ ​Dylan,​ ​Diana​ ​Ross,​ ​and​ ​Bruce​ ​Springsteen,​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​comedy​ ​legends​ ​like Flip​ ​Wilson,​ ​Richard​ ​Pryor,​ ​and​ ​Lily​ ​Tomlin.​ ​Taylor​ ​has​ ​also​ ​always​ ​had​ ​his​ ​eye​ ​on​ ​the​ ​future, helping​ ​to​ ​bring​ ​up​ ​stars​ ​of​ ​today​ ​including​ ​Norah​ ​Jones,​ ​Esperanza​ ​Spalding,​ ​Grace​ ​Kelly,​ ​Christian Scott​ ​aTunde​ ​Adjuah,​ ​and​ ​Chris​ ​Botti,​ ​to​ ​name​ ​a​ ​few.​ ​He​ ​has​ ​earned​ ​awards​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Jazz​ ​Journalists Association,​ ​JazzBoston,​ ​and​ ​Berklee,​ ​which​ ​presented​ ​Taylor​ ​with​ ​the​ ​inaugural​ ​George​ ​Wein Impresario​ ​Award​ ​in​ ​2015.

Fred’s tireless endeavor in the music business for over six decades culminated with him writing and finishing his memoir, What, And Give Up Show-biz? just weeks prior to his passing in October 2019. We are celebrating the release of this book and the legacy of Fred Taylor on December 7, 2020, benefiting his scholarship fund at the Berklee College of Music. 

Support The Fred Taylor Endowed Scholarship Fund