RAY APPLETON

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1941, “Killer” Ray Appleton was blessed to begin his career in the best possible environment. Mentored from an early age by the slightly older Freddie Hubbard, Ray had his first professional gig with Wes Montgomery at fourteen. By the age of nineteen, Ray had followed trumpeter Kenny Dorham to New York, there meeting such jazz icons as Philly Joe Jones and John Coltrane. In the mid-60s, Appleton toured and performed with Coltrane and Hubbard, appearing on Coltrane’s Infinity and Cosmic Music and playing a crucial role on Hubbard’s Backlash.       During the 1970s and 1980s Appleton lived and performed primarily in Europe, enjoying work in the jazz community abroad and taking part in international festivals such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Antibes Jazz Festival, and The Vienna Concert with Dizzy Gillespie. Now living in New York City, Ray Appleton records read more...