Best impresario

Fred Taylor has never been able to abide what he calls "laptop management," which is so antithetical to his own style -- fast and loose, based on gut instincts and taste. As the booker for Scullers since 1991 -- and as a concert promoter who has brought artists like Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Caetano Veloso, and Pat Metheny to venues like Symphony Hall and the Orpheum Theatre -- that's how Taylor has always played it. Which can drive members of his team to distraction -- the last-minute bookings (in the old days because, say, Miles Davis was on the line saying he needed a Boston gig ASAP), the schedule changes. As a businessman and a music fan, Taylor knows how to keep an eye on the bottom line while following his heart. Diana Krall, Roy Hargrove, Brad Mehldau, Danilo Pérez, and Joshua Redman have all been nurtured by Taylor's bookings, as have current stars-on-the-rise like Lizz Wright and Richard Bona. In fact, Norah Jones played her first Boston solo date at Scullers. When he puts together shows with the likes of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes or George Shearing or Bobby Short, Taylor's drawing on relationships that extend in some cases four decades, to his bookings at the old Paul's Mall/Jazz Workshop complex and before. Talk to Taylor about the downturns in the music business (he's seen a few) and he'll turn to you with a gleam in his eye and say, "You mean, give up show business?!" He means it as a joke, but we're glad he's serious about it, too.