Stan Rubin of the Tiger Town Five

Clarinetist and bandleader Stan Rubin died December 28, 2025, at age 92. He was a central figure in the 1950s college Dixieland boom, emerging from Princeton University as leader of the Tigertown Five and sustaining a long professional career that bridged campus revivalism, commercial swing, and later the nostalgia market. Raised in New Rochelle, New York, the son of a dance-band leader, Rubin entered Princeton with the Class of 1955 and organized the Tigertown Five in 1952 after shifting his focus from athletics to music.

Stan Rubin and His Tigertown Five quickly became a flagship ensemble of the college Dixieland movement, touring extensively while Rubin was still an undergraduate and gaining national exposure that included a Carnegie Hall appearance. The group was signed by RCA Victor, and Rubin’s early recordings captured the transition from informal campus jazz to tightly drilled, semi-professional ensembles built for touring and commercial release.

As the college-Dixieland recording market waned, Rubin enrolled at Fordham Law School but continued leading bands, expanding his group into the Stan Rubin Orchestra. His orchestra retained a Dixieland core while adding sections for swing-era and Broadway material. The group became a staple of society dances, hotel ballrooms, and high-profile social events. Over his career Rubin released albums on Jubilee, RCA, His Master’s Voice, Carr, Coral, United Artists, and Festival, playing both small-group traditional jazz and larger arranged formats.

Rubin maintained a close association with Princeton for decades, leading bands at at least 57 university reunions well into the 21st century and remaining identified with the Tigertown Five name in New York club appearances into the 2010s.