Alan Rubin


Alan Rubin was an American musician. He played trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet.

Early life and education

Rubin was born in Brooklyn. He began attending Juilliard School of Music in New York when he was 17 and studied with William Vacchiano, who was principal trumpet in the New York Philharmonic. Vacchiano described Rubin as his best student. While at Juilliard, Rubin was invited to play with Paul Hindemith on his last concert tour of the United States, but Rubin chose instead to play with Peggy Lee at the Village Vanguard. Rubin dropped out of Juilliard at 20 to tour with singer Robert Goulet as his lead trumpet player.

Career

Rubin was a member of the Saturday Night Live Band, with whom he played at the Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games. As a member of The Blues Brothers, he portrayed Mr. Fabulous in the 1980 film, the 1998 sequel and was a member of the touring band. In the first film, Rubin's character is maitre d' at an expensive restaurant before Jake and Elwood persuade him to rejoin the band. The nickname "Mr Fabulous" was given to Rubin by John Belushi.
Rubin played with an array of artists, such as Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Duke Ellington, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Gil Evans, Eumir Deodato, Sting, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Frankie Valli, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Miles Davis, Yoko Ono, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, and Dr. John. Rubin contributed to over 6000 recording sessions.
Rubin's last performance was with The Blues Brotherhood at B.B. King's in New York City on October 12, 2010. The performance also featured Tom "Bones" Malone and Lou "Blue Lou" Marini.

Death

Rubin died from lung cancer on June 8, 2011, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.

Discography

With Patti Austin
  • Havana Candy
With Gato Barbieri
  • Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata
With George Benson
  • White Rabbit
  • Bad Benson
With The Blues Brothers
With Hue and Cry
  • Remote
With Jimmy Buffett
  • Off to See the Lizard
With Ron Carter
  • Anything Goes
With Stanley Clarke
  • School Days
With Linda Clifford
With Hank Crawford
  • Wildflower
  • I Hear a Symphony
  • Mr. Chips
  • Night Beat
  • Groove Master
  • Tight
With Sheena Easton
  • No Sound But a Heart
With Donald Fagen
  • Kamakiriad
With Aretha Franklin
With Gloria Gaynor
  • Experience Gloria Gaynor
  • I've Got You
  • Glorious
With Johnny Hammond
  • Higher Ground
With Levon Helm
  • Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars
  • Levon Helm
With Jennifer Holliday
With Cissy Houston
  • Think It Over
With Jackie and Roy
  • Time & Love
With Garland Jeffreys
  • One-Eyed Jack
  • Guts for Love
With Billy Joel
  • The Bridge
With Hubert Laws
  • Morning Star
With O'Donel Levy
  • Simba
With Fred Lipsius
With Herbie Mann
  • Brazil: Once Again
With Jimmy McGriff
  • Red Beans
  • Tailgunner
With Sinéad O'Connor
  • Am I Not Your Girl?
With Yoko Ono
  • A Story
With Lou Reed
  • Sally Can't Dance
With Don Sebesky
  • Giant Box
With Carly Simon
With Paul Simon
  • Graceland
With Lonnie Smith
  • Keep on Lovin
With Phoebe Snow
  • Never Letting Go
With Ringo Starr
  • Ringo's Rotogravure
With James Taylor
  • Walking Man
With Tina Turner
  • Love Explosion
With Stanley Turrentine
  • Nightwings
With Frankie Valli
  • Closeup
With Randy Weston
  • Blue Moses
With Jim Steinman
With Frank Sinatra'