An excellent avant-garde tenor who has always been a bit underrated, Charles Brackeen originally studied violin and piano. Settling on tenor, he worked in both New York and Los Angeles, meeting and marrying pianist Joanne Brackeen. In New York, he was associated with "the new thing," and in 1968 recorded an interesting set for Strata East with three of the members of the Ornette Coleman Quartet (Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Ed Blackwell). After a long period of obscurity, he began playing with Paul Motian (who he recorded with for ECM), and in 1987 he made several records for Silkheart. An explorative high-energy player, Charles Brackeen's performances are always stimulating. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide