Erik Applegate: Jazz Bass Player & Composer based in Denver and Colorado

“top-notch acoustic bass performer”-JazzReview.com

Heard on the Grammy-nominated "Journey Home" & on Public Radio's "Whaddya Know?"

Based in Colorado, Erik Applegate has performed throughout the U.S. with a host of jazz artists including Jeff Coffin, Ingrid Jensen, Milt Jackson, Eddie Daniels, Mulgrew Miller, Billy Pierce, Tom Harrell, Dave Pietro, Dick Oatts, Marlena Shaw, Peter Eldridge, Don Aliquo, Mark Elf, Bob Dorough, Tony Reedus, Yoron Israel, Kenny Washington, and others. He toured with James Williams and in a trio with Harold Mabern and Ed Thigpen, and has appeared at the Montreux and North Sea jazz festivals in Europe and the Glenelg jazz festival in Australia.

These days, Erik can often be found performing in trio settings with pianist Dana Landry and drummer Jim White, or with pianist Mark Sloniker and drummer Mark Raynes, and with other nationally known Colorado-based jazz players including Greg Gisbert, Brad Goode, Peter Sommer, and John Gunther.

Prior to rejoining Colorado's jazz scene, Erik spent several years in Nashville, where he performed with many of the “third coast” elite, including Jeff Coffin, Don Aliquo, and fellow bassist (and former Toto member) David Hungate. His three-year association with Jeff Coffin's Jazz Boys band led to a memorable performance with Bela Fleck and Chester Thompson.

While in Nashville, Erik met trumpeter Ken Watters, who was then based in Huntsville, Alabama. Erik toured the southeast with the Ken Watters Group for two years and recorded “Brothers III” (Summit Records), which also featured Harry Watters.

Erik can be heard on these recordings:
 Don Aliquo Another Reply (CAP Records), which reached #16 on the Jazz Week chart;  Ken and Harry Watters Brothers 3 (Summit Records), which reached #24 on the Jazz Week chart ; and Dana Landry’s Grammy-nominated Journey Home (Summit Records), which reach #19 on the Jazz Week chart.

Forthcoming recordings include Tale of the Open Road (a quartet session with Dana Landry, Don Aliquo, and Jim White), Memphis Skyline (a trio date with Landry and White), and the debut recording of Applegate's pianoless quartet.

An avid composer and arranger, Erik has written for classical chamber ensemble, choir, and symphony, but his main love is writing tunes for jazz trios/quartets/quintets/big bands. Erik's tunes can be heard on the CDs listed above. Erik was awarded a grant from the Colorado Council on the Arts for his “Walt Whitman Jazz Suite” (1992), and a Down Beat Student Music Award for Best Original Song.

While not a main focus of his work, Erik is no stranger to classical music. He has appeared with orchestras in Colorado, Wyoming, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and performed under the baton of composer John Rutter. Erik was a member of the Stones River Chamber Players for three years, performing chamber works from the 18th-20th centuries.

Currently on faculty at the University of Northern Colorado, he formerly held faculty positions at Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Adelaide, Australia, and also taught at colleges in Kentucky and Colorado. He has presented workshops in Washington, California, Oregon, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Erik serves on the faculties of the Britt Institute Jazz Workshop (Oregon), the Yellowstone Jazz Camp (Wyoming), and the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Camp. He holds degrees from Berklee College of Music and the University of Northern Colorado.