Ray Appleton

{{Short description|American jazz drummer (1941–2015)}}{{Infobox musical artist | name = Ray Appleton | birth_name = Otis Ray Appleton | alias = "Killer" Ray Appleton | birth_date = August 23, 1941 | birth_place = [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]], U.S. | death_date = October 7, 2015 (aged 74) | genre = [[Jazz]] | instruments = [[Drums]] }}

'''Otis Ray Appleton''' (August 23, 1941 – October 7, 2015) was an American jazz drummer.

== Early life == Born in [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]], his interest in drums began when visiting the local fire department to hear their "Drum and Bugle Corps" practice. He played in school bands, but hearing [[Freddie Hubbard]] and [[James Spaulding]] led to a serious interest in jazz.

== Career == Appleton toured and recorded with [[John Coltrane]], Freddie Hubbard, [[Wes Montgomery]] and others. Due to a car accident and [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetes]], he lost part of his left leg in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|last=Murph |first=John |url=https://jazztimes.com/articles/87248-kiiler-ray-appleton-once-upon-a-time-in-the-midwest |title=Jazz Departments: "KiIler" Ray Appleton: Once Upon a Time in the Midwest - By John Murph — Jazz Articles |publisher=Jazztimes.com |date= |accessdate=2015-10-17}}</ref> He reportedly received his nickname "killer" from bassist [[Larry Ridley]] and became a person of note in Indianapolis's jazz community.<ref name="Williams2014">{{cite book |author=David Leander Williams |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPN0AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA145 |title=Indianapolis Jazz: The Masters, Legends and Legacy of Indiana Avenue |publisher=The History Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-62619-403-8 |pages=145–146}}</ref>

== Personal life == Appleton died of congestive heart failure on October 7, 2015, at age 74.<ref>{{cite web|last=Long |first=Kyle |url=http://www.nuvo.net/ACulturalManifesto/archives/2015/10/14/remembering-killer-ray |title=Remembering Killer Ray | A Cultural Manifesto | NUVO News | Indianapolis, IN |publisher=Nuvo.net |date= 14 October 2015|accessdate=2015-10-17}}</ref>

==Discography==

===As leader=== * ''Killer Ray Rides Again'' (Sharp Nine, 1996)<ref>{{AllMusic |class=album |id=killer-ray-rides-again-mw0000775292 |title=''Killer Ray Rides Again'' |access-date=May 2, 2026}}</ref>

===As sideman=== '''With [[David Hazeltine]]''' * ''4 Flights Up'' (Sharp Nine, 1995)<ref>{{AllMusic |class=album |id=four-flights-up-mw0000610878 |title=''Four Flights Up'' |access-date=May 2, 2026}}</ref><ref name="Penguin9">{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |author-link1=Richard Cook (journalist) |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |author-link2=Brian Morton (Scottish writer) |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |year=2008 |edition=9th |publisher=[[Penguin Books|Penguin]] |isbn=978-0-141-03401-0 |pages=677–678 |title-link=The Penguin Guide to Jazz }}</ref> '''With [[Freddie Hubbard]]''' * ''[[Backlash (Freddie Hubbard album)|Backlash]]'' (1967) '''With [[Jimmy Witherspoon]]''' * ''[[The Blues Is Now]]'' (1967)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://killerrayappleton.net/Home.html Ray Appleton website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, Ray}} [[Category:1941 births]] [[Category:2015 deaths]] [[Category:African-American jazz musicians]] [[Category:American jazz drummers]] [[Category:American amputees]] [[Category:Musicians from Indianapolis]] [[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]] [[Category:21st-century African-American musicians]] [[Category:Criss Cross Jazz artists]] [[Category:American male drummers]] [[Category:Drummers from Indiana]]