Peter Apfelbaum, born in Berkeley, California, is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and tenor saxophonist. He was also a drummer, composer, and tenor saxophonist. In the late 1970s, he first made a splash on the jazz scene performing with Carla Bley (1978-1982) and touring with Karl Berger and Warren Smith (1982-1982). Apfelbaum also performed with The Hieroglyphics Ensemble in shows for The Grateful Dead during the 1990s. In 1978, he graduated from Berkeley High School with a class that also included jazz pianist Benny Green. Apfelbaum is a pioneer in avant-garde jazz and world music since the 1980s. He is a well-known multi-instrumentalist and composer. He plays tenor saxophone and piano as his main instruments, but he also records and performs with various percussion, wind and other instruments. Apfelbaum has also composed suites for Don Cherry and his 17-piece band, The Hieroglyphics Ensemble. Apfelbaum recorded and toured with Cherry in 1990 as part of the Multikulti group, where he played both piano and saxophone. Apfelbaum founded “The Hieroglyphics Ensemble”, a group of jazz musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area, including Jeff Cressman (Jeff Cressman), Will Bernard, Norbert Stanchel, Jessica Jones and Josh Jones. The New York Hieroglyphics, the latest version of this group, released their first CD “It is Written” (2006). It featured members from the original group as well as New York-based musicians like Josh Roseman, Dafnis Preteto, and Josh Roseman. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
