Paloma Faith
Boy George
Reuben Fowler is a 24 year old trumpeter, composer and arranger based in London, UK. He is the recipient of the 2012 Kenny Wheeler prize, the 2012 Musicians Benevolent Peter Whittingham Award and the Jazz Services Recording Support Scheme. His debut album 'Between Shadows' was released on Edition Records in July 2013 to critical acclaim, being cited as 'one of the top 50 jazz releases of 2013.' 'Between Shadows' is an album of original jazz orchestra music featuring Reuben, US trumpet icon Tom Harrell, Stan Sulzmann and Jim Hart. The big band comprises of some of the UK's finest jazz and session musicians including Mike Lovatt, Percy Pursglove, Gordon Campbell and Sam Mayne. In addition to the studio recording; recorded at Angel Studios with GRAMMY-Award winning engineer Steve Price, the ensemble has performed at some of London's finest venues including Kings Place and the Royal Festival Hall as part of the 2013 London Jazz Festival.
In addition to his solo projects, Reuben is currently playing and touring with Boy George, Paloma Faith and Culture Club. In 2014 Reuben was involved in the Boy George 'This Is What I Do' UK, Europe and USA Tour culminating in a performance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', where his trumpet was heavily featured on 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me' Born into a musical family in Wakefield, Reuben began playing the trumpet in secondary school and displayed an interest in jazz and the large ensemble repertoire with the Doncaster Jazz Association (DJA) at age 15. With the DJA he toured New York and played at the Royal Albert Hall as a featured soloist. At 17, he was part of an album recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the Doncaster Jazz Orchestra, recording the flugelhorn feature ‘Blue.’
During his teens Reuben commuted regularly to London to take a chair with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. With NYJO he played at various venues and festivals throughout the UK, including Ronnie Scotts and the Scarborough Jazz Festival. In 2008 he gained a place on the jazz course at the Royal Academy of Music. While at the Academy Reuben studied with Gerard Presencer, Nikki Iles, Mike Lovatt and Mike Gibbs.
On graduating, he was awarded the John Baker Memorial Prize for Brass. In 2012, Reuben was part of the International Association of Jazz Educators with Dave Liebman, where he met and studied with the great Michael Abene. Since leaving the Academy, Reuben has been active both recording and touring. His trumpet can be heard on the upcoming 'Culture Club' album (released 2015) and the American release of 'This is What I Do' by Boy George, where he is featured on 'Turn On A Little Light For Me.' He has also recorded with Peter Cox of 'Go West', and can be heard on 'Live at Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2013' by Troyk-estra (with whom he is a member.)