Happy Apple

Happy Apple
Place of origin	United States of America
Genres	jazz

Happy Apple
Origin	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Genres	Jazz
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Sunnyside
Members	Erik Fratzke Michael Lewis David King
Past members	Anton Denner Cully Swansen
Website	www.happyapplemusic.com

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

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.

All three members compose music for the group, 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.

Discography

Studio albums

• Blown Shockwaves & Crash Flow (Self-Released, 1997)
• Part of the Solutionproblem (No Alternative, 1998)
• Body Popping Moon Walking Top Rocking (No Alternative, 1999)
• Please Refrain from Fronting (Self-Released, 2001)
• Youth Oriented (Sunnyside, 2003)
• The Peace Between Our Companies (Sunnyside, 2004 Europe, 2005 North America)
• Happy Apple Back on Top (Sunnyside, 2007)
• New York CD (Self-Released, 2020)

Live albums

• Jazzercise with the Elders/E Equals What I Says It Does/God Bless Certain Portions of the USA (Self-Released, 2000)