'Blues Brothers' trumpeter Alan Rubin dead

Trumpet player Alan Rubin was recruited to join the Blues Brothers after backing up John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in the "Saturday Night Live" television skits that spawned the band in the late 1970s.

One of many gifted session musicians in the group, Rubin became known for his movie portrayal of head waiter Mr. Fabulous in 1980's "The Blues Brothers" and a 1998 sequel.

Rubin died Wednesday of lung cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, said his wife, Mary Moreno Rubin. He was 68.

He was a premier New York City session musician who was "sought out for his expertise in playing every style of music -- from classical to jazz to blues to rock and disco -- authentically and artistically," the Original Blues Brothers Band said in a statement.

When asked about his professional biography, Rubin liked to say: "Been everywhere, played with everyone."

Born Feb. 11, 1943, in New York City, Rubin took up the trumpet when he was about 10 and entered the Juilliard School at 17.

At 20, he dropped out of Juilliard to go on the road with singer Robert Goulet.

Rubin would go on to record and perform with Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Blood Sweat & Tears, Aerosmith, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, among many others, his wife said.