Ruben McFall
Reuben McFall '' is an American trumpeter and jazz arranger who performed as a sideman with Freddie Slack, Vido Musso, Floyd Ray, Roy Porter, Glen Henry, Lalo Guerrero, Stan Kenton, Gerry Mulligan, Woody Herman, Teddi King, and Gerald Wilson.
Career
; As sideman, performed with- Freddie Slack
- Vido Musso
- Floyd Ray
- Roy Porter from 1949 to 1950
- Glen Henry Band in 1950, with Joe Maini on saxophone, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and Bill Trujillo on saxophone
- Lalo Guerrero — toured with his band from 1951 to 1952, with Lennie Niehaus on alto sax, Bill Trujillo on tenor, Frank Quijada on drums, and Al León on piano
- Stan Kenton from 1952 to 1953 — McFall was a member of the band during a milestone in jazz, when Kenton's band recorded the first of 5 sessions in 9 days for Capitol in Chicago for the New Concepts of Artistry In Rhythm album.
- Gerry Mulligan — see album compilation, Gerry Mulligan: The Quintessence/New York Los Angeles Paris 1946-1955''
- Woody Herman from 1953 to 1955, for whom he composed and arranged "Mambo the Most"
- Teddi King, at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1955
- Gerald Wilson — McFall is featured as trumpet soloist on a recording of "La Virgen de la Macarena," arranged by Wilson and recorded in 1954 with Wilson's big band
- Shorty Rogers Big Band
- 3 with Roy Porter and His Orchestra from 1949 to 1950
- 59 with Stan Kenton from 1952 to 1953
- 1 with Shorty Rogers and His Big Band in 1953
- 13 with Woody Herman from 1953 to 1955
- 1 with Teddi King 1955, Newport Jazz Festival
Selected discography
; As sidemanWith Stan Kenton
- Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton
- Sketches on Standards
- This Modern World
- The Kenton Era
- Dodo Marmarosa, Lorraine Geller, West Coast Piano Touch
- Shorty Rogers Big Band, Live at the Rendezvous Ballroom, Newport Beach, California;
Selected compositions and arrangements
- "Bobby's Mambo"
- "Mambo the Most, Part 1"
- "Mambo the Most, Part 2"
- "Mambo the Utmost"
- "Mambo a la Stockholm"
Education
McFall grew up in the Belvedere neighborhood of East Los Angeles, California, long established as a Mexican-American enclave. In the 1940 and 1942 Los Angeles Voter Registration directory, Ruben's father, Ernest VanSant McFall, was listed a musician.McFall attended Westlake College of Music in Hollywood, California, one of the first institutions in the county to offer a diploma in jazz. The school was founded in 1945 and ran until 1961. In Los Angeles, during the early 1950s, his friends included trumpeter Donald Roy Fromknecht, Jr..