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Alan Rubin

Alan Rubin (1943–2011) brought a musician’s precision and a dry sense of cool to the screen. Born in Brooklyn on February 11, 1943, he was best known as a trumpeter, session player and member of the Blues Brothers, though his work also extended to composing, arranging, acting, saxophone and flugelhorn. Rubin began attending New York’s Juilliard School of Music at 17, studying with New York Philharmonic principal trumpeter William Vacchiano, who called him his best student. While there, Rubin turned down the opportunity to join Paul Hindemith’s final American concert tour and instead played with Peggy Lee at the Village Vanguard. At 20, he left Juilliard to tour as singer Robert Goulet’s lead trumpet player. His screen identity came into sharp focus as Mr. Fabulous, the nickname John Belushi gave him. In the 1980 Blues Brothers film, Rubin plays a former band member working as the maître d’ at an expensive restaurant until Jake and Elwood arrive to pull him back into the group. The role suited Rubin’s composed presence: even amid the surrounding chaos, Mr. Fabulous carried himself like the professional musician Rubin really was. He returned for the 1998 sequel and also performed with the Blues Brothers touring band. Rubin was also a member of the Saturday Night Live Band, performing with the group at the closing ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games. Across more than 6,000 recording sessions, he played with artists including Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel and B.B. King. His final performance took place on October 12, 2010, at B.B. King’s in New York City, where he appeared with the Blues Brotherhood alongside Tom “Bones” Malone and “Blue Lou” Marini. Rubin’s movie appearances were only one part of a much larger musical life, but Mr. Fabulous remains a fitting screen introduction: poised, accomplished and always ready to get the band back together.