Photo by Luke Marantz
About
Whether leading a jazz piano trio or composing for orchestra and film, Reuben Allen is an adept story teller, drawing listeners into the unique experience of every piece. Reuben has been honored to share the stage with Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Bernard Purdie, John Boutté, and Bob Brookmeyer, and has performed at the New Orleans, Torino, and Stanford Jazz Festivals as well as at venues including The Blue Note and Dizzy's Club in New York City. His compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Kenny Barron Quintet at the Village Vanguard, the Houston Symphony Orchestra with The Suffers, the Navy Commodores Jazz Ensemble, and the Eastman Saxophone Project. Reuben’s string quartet arrangement of Aaron Copland’s Hoe Down was performed in Statuary Hall following the Inauguration of President Obama in 2013. As a composer for film, he created music to the documentary "Lives Visible" which explores the history of Chicago's lesbian community and contributed to the feature film "The Second Sun" as co-composer, arranger and orchestrator. Growing up in Chicago, Reuben was fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful music from a young age, including live jazz performed by local and touring musicians at the Jazz Showcase as well as classical music from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Thanks to his parents, he discovered recordings by Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, and Miles Davis, which inspired him to study jazz throughout high school. Reuben went on to earn Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Jazz Performance and Composition/Arranging respectively, as well as the Artist Diploma in Jazz Studies from Juilliard. During these years, he was fortunate to study with Kenny Barron, Frank Kimbrough, Harold Danko, and Bill Dobbins.
Reuben is also a dedicated educator. He has taught dozens of students through private lessons and classes including jazz piano, jazz arranging, and jazz theory at the Juilliard Extension Division. In 2020, he presented research on techniques of jazz improvisation at the 2021 Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference. Reuben lives in Los Angeles where he directs the instrumental music program at Flintridge Preparatory School teaching jazz and rock bands, orchestra, and AP Music Theory.
MUSIC FOR Film
Re-Scoring of Scene from the Dreamworks picture “How to Train Your Dragon”
Music Education
My goal as an educator is to meet students at their current background and give them the tools to make and discover music in a deeper and more joyful way starting from their first lesson. I believe that means helping them learn music by ear and understand how it works; not just asking that they read the notes. Therefore, I integrate music theory, including exercises in harmony and rhythm, ear training, and improvisation into most lessons. These inform the study of jazz piano, improvisation, composition and arranging, and performance in popular styles.
I share a library of home-made handouts, exercises, and transcriptions of improvisations, compositions, and arrangements with students to outline concepts in the clearest and most exciting way. As I have been fortunate to study with a number of mentors myself, including Kenny Barron, Frank Kimbrough, Harold Danko, and Bill Dobbins, their approaches have informed my own teaching and playing. I have over fourteen years of teaching experience, including three years at the Juilliard Extension Division where I have taught courses in Jazz Piano, Arranging, and Jazz Theory.
Finally, with a strong background in classical piano, I can help students advance their technique, sight reading skills, and practice habits to help them get the most out of their practice time.
Rocco Dapice - “I studied jazz piano with Reuben Allen for four wonderful semesters at Juilliard. Reuben always delivers articulate, well-informed teaching, relentlessly encouraging coaching, and frequent piano-demoing. He is positive, upbeat, and always passionate about the music. Reuben stands out as not only a super musician, but a fantastic music educator.”
Guinevere Lee - “Reuben taught me beginner jazz piano at the Evening Division at Juilliard School for a semester. My experience with Reuben has been amazing. I would recommend Reuben to anyone who wish to learn jazz piano and who find it difficult to break into the jazz world. Before working with Reuben, I have made multiple attempts taking other beginner jazz piano and improvisation courses in in-person, in-class and [large class] settings. These courses still left me confused about how I should approach practicing jazz music. I did not feel I know what I was doing when I improvise. Reuben's method was well-rounded and systematic (listening, imitating masters, developing tiny ideas one at a time, theories but not excessive, and even a bit of history). I had so many breakthrough moments during the semester and I felt I finally understand what I was doing on the keyboard and how to improve. Thank you Reuben!”
David Gaines - “Reuben is incredibly knowledgeable, and also goes above and beyond in supporting his students and their learning process, but at the same time is very clear on what areas need to be worked on. Many times I would shoot him an email or text with a question and he always got back with a detailed (and helpful) response. He's also super enthusiastic!
Michael Errico - “What a great teacher. On top of the subject, enthusiastic and stimulating. All teachers should be that good.”