Happy Apple

Last updated

Happy Apple
Origin Minneapolis, Minnesota
Genres Jazz
Years active1996–present
Labels Sunnyside
Members
Past members
  • Anton Denner
  • Cully Swansen
Website www.happyapplemusic.com
Part of the Solutionproblem
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Body Popping Moon Walking Top Rocking
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Please Refrain from Fronting
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Youth Oriented
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Peace Between Our Companies
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Happy Apple is an American jazz trio from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Contents

Initially formed in 1996 by David King (drums), Michael Lewis (saxophone), Anton Denner (saxophone) and Cully Swansen (bass), since 1998 the lineup has consisted of King, Lewis, and bass guitarist Erik Fratzke. [2]

All three members compose music for the group, [2] which places equal emphasis on improvisation. Happy Apple plays a brand of jazz music drawing on several other genres; the group's members play in other bands ranging from indie rock and heavy metal to free jazz and electronic. The best known of these is The Bad Plus, in which King also plays drums.

The name Happy Apple comes from a Fisher-Price toy from the 1970s which King often uses as an auxiliary percussion instrument.

Critical reception

Reviewing the group's 2003 album Youth Oriented, CMJ New Music Report said that "Happy Apple has an edgy appeal, fueled by its elastic sense of rhythm and dynamics. The band can groove hard for extended stetches, playing with the singlemindedness of a rock group, or it can sit in one place, working on a freetime idea just as comfortably." [3]

Discography

Albums

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Leggett, Steve. "Happy Apple - Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  2. 1 2 DiPietro, Phil. "What Part of the Solution Problem Don't You Understand? Happy Apple bassman Erik Fratzke Refrains From Fronting". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Happy Apple, Youth Oriented". CMJ New Music Report . No. 729. CMJ Network, Inc. January 20, 2003. p. 28. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.