Alan Rubin (February 11, 1943 – June 8, 2011), also known as Mr. Fabulous, 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 (Blues Brothers tribute show) 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 With Gato Barbieri With George Benson With The Blues Brothers With Hue and Cry With Jimmy Buffett With Ron Carter With Stanley Clarke With Linda Clifford With Hank Crawford With Sheena Easton With Donald Fagen With Aretha Franklin With Gloria Gaynor With Johnny Hammond With Levon Helm With Jennifer Holliday With Cissy Houston With Jackie and Roy With Garland Jeffreys With Billy Joel With Hubert Laws With O'Donel Levy With Fred Lipsius With Herbie Mann With Jimmy McGriff With Sinéad O'Connor With Yoko Ono With Lou Reed With Don Sebesky With Carly Simon With Paul Simon With Lonnie Smith With Phoebe Snow With Ringo Starr With James Taylor With Tina Turner With Stanley Turrentine With Frankie Valli With Randy Weston With Jim Steinman' With Frank Sinatra'

Filmography