Rubén P. Alvarez is a Chicago based Latin percussionist, drum set artist, and educator. His credits include musical theatre as a percussionist and musical consultant for the Goodman Theatre Production “Crowns", and the Broadway Chicago run of “The Lion King”, and performances and recordings with blues artists John Mayall and Junior Wells, rock artists Dave Mason and Dennis De Young, and jazz artists including Grammy nominee Ramsey Lewis, Patricia Barber, Dave Valentín, Slide Hampton, Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval, and 2010 Latin and Latin Grammy nominees Sones De Mexico. He is a 2013 Latin Grammy nominee for his work on the Chuchito Valdés Cd “Made in Chicago”, and is a member of Chicago’s premier Latin jazz ensemble Chévere De Chicago.
Rubén teaches percussion and directs Latin Jazz combos at Roosevelt University, Columbia College Chicago, and Prairie State College, and is a teaching artist for the Jazz Institute of Chicago Jazz Links residency program. He is a featured presenter at national and international music education conferences. Rubén currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Jazz Education Network, the Board of Governors of the Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy and as Vice President of the Illinois chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. He endorses Latin Percussion ®, Remo percussion products, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, and Zildjian cymbals.