Saul Zebulon Rubin

Saul Rubin is a New York–based jazz guitarist, composer, multi-instrumentalist,
bandleader, producer, visual artist, and mentor whose career spans more than four
decades of performance, recording, and community leadership. A mainstay of the city’s
jazz life, he occupies a distinctive place as both a deeply musical guitarist and a
sustaining force within the broader jazz ecosystem.
A regular member of the Roy Hargrove Big Band, Rubin has worked with artists across
generations including Sonny Rollins, Roy Hargrove, Kirk Lightsey, Victor Lewis, Jon
Batiste, Bob Cranshaw, Gregory Porter, Renée Fleming, John Hicks, Johnny O’Neal,
Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Candido, Winard Harper, Larry Willis, Sherman Irby,
Thomas Chapin, Emmet Cohen and countless others.
Born in Manhattan in 1958 and raised in Brooklyn and Great Neck, Long Island, Rubin
developed into a gifted guitarist and composer shaped by rock, blues, fusion and
classical music. From 1976 - 1980 he studied composition and jazz at the Hartt School
of Music, with Jackie McLean and Paul Jeffrey. In 1980 Saul returned to New York to
embark on his musical journey.
A major turning point came with his long-term association with the Roy Hargrove Big
Band, which he toured internationally and appeared on Emergence (2009). He later joined
Sonny Rollins’ touring band at Rollins’ invitation, participating in Rollins’ final U.S. and
European tours, documented in duo on Road Shows, Vol. 4: Holding the Stage (2016).
As a leader, Rubin released The Saul Rubin Quartet (2004), Saul Rubin: The ZEBTET
(2014), and Zeb’s House (2015). Rubin’s most recent album is 2020’s Zebulon Trio.
In 2009, he founded ZEB’S, a Chelsea loft performance space and recording studio that
operated as a vital hub for New York’s working jazz community through 2016. There he
produced countless recordings and live performances as well as his beloved long running
weekly Jazz Vocalist Series and the NYC Jazz Guitar Festival in 2010, 2012, 2015 and
2019 showcasing some of NYC’s finest guitarists. He has single-handedly played host
to many of the world’s greatest jazz artists.
Over the past decade, Rubin has developed a significant European presence, with Paris
as a central base of activity. He performs there multiple times each year alongside
venues across France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Romania.
Rubin continues to perform regularly in the U.S. and abroad, with his long running
ensemble, The Zebtet, as well as quartets, trios and various groups. He has also
collaborated as a sideman with many artists, sustaining a career grounded in trust,

consistency, and long-term musical relationships.

Gear

Guitars, Saxophones , pianos , keyboards, recording and production gear.