Reuben Fowler is a 23 year old trumpeter, composer and arranger based in London. He is the recipient of the 2012 Kenny Wheeler Award, the Musicians Benevolent Peter Whittingham Award and the Jazz Services Recording Support Scheme. His first record; an album of original big band music featuring himself, Stan Sulzmann, Jim Hart and Tom Harrell will be released on Edition Records in 2013. The big band consists of many of the UK’s finest jazz and session musicians.
	Displaying an interest in jazz at 15, he joined the Doncaster Jazz Association (DJA). 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, Martin Speake, Nick Smart, Nikki Iles, Mike Lovatt, Stan Sulzmann and Will Vinson. He has also played with Peter Erskine, John Taylor, Henry Lowther, Stan Tracey and Mike Walker.
		Reuben has also played as part of various ensembles including the Gareth Lockrane Big Band, the Ed Puddick Big Band, the 606 Big Band, the James Taylor Quartet (JTQ) and the Andy Panayi Big Band in many of London’s most prestigious venues.  

"Reuben has that extraordinary combination of abilities that are entirely appropriate for this prize in Kenny’s name: great composer, masterful orchestration, commanding soloist and an overall vision for a most ambitious project.”
-Evan Parker

"In this year’s selection process, Reuben stood out as a young musician who not only had great command of his instrument but also demonstrated a maturity in his composing and imaginative orchestration. To put forward a big band project in this current climate is ambitious but clearly shows that Reuben has great drive and determination and I, for one, am looking forward to hearing the results”
-Dave Stapleton, Edition Records

"Surely someone we'll be hearing a lot more of in the future."
Stephen Graham- Jazzwise

MartynaWren is following