Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz fusion bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar.

Born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, United States, Swallow studied piano and trumpet, as a child, before turning to the double bass at age 14. While attending a prep school, he began trying his hand in jazz improvisation. In 1960, he left Yale University, where he was studying composition, and settled in New York City, playing at the time in Jimmy Giuffre‘s trio along with Paul Bley. After joining Art Farmer‘s quartet in 1963,^[1] Swallow began to write. It is in the 1960s that his long-term association with Gary Burton‘s various bands began.