Citing change, Scullers Jazz Club fires longtime entertainment director

Fred Taylor, a longtime figure in Boston’s jazz scene, will no longer be entertainment director at Scullers Jazz Club, he told The Boston Globe.

Taylor became the club’s booker shortly after it opened inside the DoubleTree Guest Suites Hotel in 1989. When asked what the motivation for his firing was, Taylor said thehotel’s manager, Jayne Barrett, told him he’s “been doing the same thing for a long time, and we need a change.”

In a voicemail to the Globe Friday, Barrett said that “exciting things are happening” at Scullers, but did not comment on Taylor’s position. The club recently relocated to the first floor of the hotel from the second and increased capacity to 205 seats from 170.

Taylor is expected to remain in his position through the end of February. Annmarie Blyth, the club’s general manager, was also let go, Taylor said. He also said that Jan Mullen from The SideDoor jazz club in Old Lyme, Connecticut, has been hired tomanageand bookScullers.

Taylor has been a prominent figure on Boston’s jazz scene for nearly six decades. He formerly owned renowned clubs Paul’s Mall and the Jazz Workshop, booking legendsJohn Coltrane, Duke Ellington,Miles Davis and others.

Under his direction, Scullers hosted artists like Tony Bennett, Lou Rawls, Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., Quincy Jones, Norah Jones and Michael Buble.