Peter Apfelbaum (c. 1960) is an American Avant-garde jazz pianist, tenor saxophonist, drummer and composer born in Berkeley, California. He first emerged on the jazz scene in the late 1970s, performing with Carla Bley from 1978-1982 and touring with Warren Smith and Karl Berger. Apfelbaum has also opened shows for Grateful Dead in the early 90s with The Hieroglyphics Ensemble. He graduated from Berkeley High School in 1978, in a class that included jazz pianist Benny Green.

Apfelbaum has made an impact on the avant garde jazz and world music scene since the late 1970s and 1980s. He is a well-known multi-instrumentalist and composer. His three main instruments are tenor saxophone, piano, and drums, but he has recorded and performed with a diverse array of percussion, wind, and other instruments. He has composed suites for various artists as well (including Don Cherry) and his own 17-piece group The Hieroglyphics Ensemble. In 1990 Apfelbaum toured and recorded with Cherry in the group Multikulti, playing both piano and saxophone. Apfelbaum formed "The Hieroglyphics Ensemble", with various jazz musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area (Jeff Cressman, Will Bernard, Norbert Stachel, Jessica Jones, Tony Jones, Peck Almond, Dezon Claiborne, Josh Jones among many others). The latest incarnation of this group, The New York Hieroglyphics released their first cd "It is Written" in 2006, featuring members from the original group and New York-based musicians such as Patrice Blanchard, Dafnis Prieto, Josh Roseman and various others.