Erik Applegate is Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Colorado, where he teaches improvisation, arranging, jazz theory, jazz pedagogy, and advanced bass students, and directs jazz ensembles. Prior to joining UNC, he held faculty positions at Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Adelaide, Australia, and taught at Western Kentucky University.

A bassist, Applegate has performed throughout the U.S. with jazz artists including Jeff Coffin, Milt Jackson, Mulgrew Miller, Greg Gisbert, Eddie Daniels, Dick Oatts, George Garzone, Tom Harrell, Don Aliquo, Clay Jenkins, Ron Miles, Marlena Shaw, Peter Eldridge, and others. He toured with pianist James Williams and in a trio with Harold Mabern and Ed Thigpen, and has appeared at jazz festivals, clubs, and concert series in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.

Applegate can be heard on Dana Landry’s Grammy-nominated CD Journey Home (Summit Records), Don Aliquo’s Another Reply (CAP Records), and Ken and Harry Watters’ Brothers 3 (Summit Records)–all of which reached the top 30 on the Jazz Week U.S. airplay chart.

An experienced composer and arranger, Applegate has written commissions for jazz artists, university jazz and classical ensembles, and professional chamber groups. He was awarded an Individual Artist Grant from the Colorado Council on the Arts and won a Down Beat Student Music Award for “Best Original Composition.”

Applegate is an active clinician for high schools and colleges throughout the U.S and serves on the faculties of jazz camps in Oregon, Wyoming, and Colorado. He has presented sessions for national and international conferences including MENC, IAJE, and the International Jazz Composers Symposium.

Mr. Applegate holds degrees from Berklee College of Music and the University of Northern Colorado.