Al Rubin

Alan Rubin (February 11, 1943 – June 8, 2011), also known as Mr. Fabulous, was an American musician. He played trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet. Rubin 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.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. 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 NYC on October 12, 2010. The performance also featured Tom "Bones" Malone and Lou "Blue Lou" Marini. Rubin died from lung cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and he was cremated. Rubin is survived by his wife, Mary and two siblings, Sharyn Soleimani and Marshall Rubin.