Reuben Allen

Testimonials Below:

“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.” – Rocco Dapice

“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!” – Guenivere Lee

“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!  – David Gaines

“What a great teacher. On top of the subject, enthusiastic and stimulating. All teachers should be that good.” – Michael Errico

Piano

Reuben Allen is a versatile pianist and experienced educator who has shared the stage with  many incredible artists including Wynton Marsalis and Dianne Reeves.  Reuben has performed at the New Orleans, Torino, and Stanford Jazz Festivals, and he has played many famous NYC venues including The Blue Note and Dizzy’s Club.

His compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Kenny Barron Quintet, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, 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.

Growing up in Chicago, Reuben was fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful music. He discovered
recordings by Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, and Miles Davis, which inspired him to study jazz
throughout high school. Reuben earned his 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 spends his time between Los Angeles and New York City where he is an active performer, composer and educator. He currently
teaches piano and arranging courses at the Juilliard Evening Division and at Coast Music.

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