Saxophonist
Charles Brackeen is a legendary hero among those who appreciate and respect the many and varied traditions of creatively improvised music that have developed as a continuum following the courageous trailblazing of saxophonists
Albert Ayler,
John Coltrane,
Pharoah Sanders,
Archie Shepp,
Marion Brown,
John Tchicai,
Charles Tyler,
Joseph Jarman,
Roscoe Mitchell,
Anthony Braxton,
Julius Hemphill, and
Sam Rivers. Possessed of a tone parallel to that of
John Gilmore,
Brackeen's steadfast dedication to inspired, colorful, and emotionally textured music has never been sufficiently recognized, nor has he received anything amounting to more than fragmentary compensation for his contributions to the art of improvisation.
Born in Oklahoma on March 13, 1940, he spent some time in Texas before moving to California in 1956. He studied piano and violin before permanently settling upon the saxophones as his chosen family of instruments. After working with vibraphonist
Dave Pike and trumpeters
Art Farmer and
Joe Gordon, he began sitting in with more progressive improvisers like pocket cornetist
Don Cherry, bassist
Charlie Haden, and drummer
Billy Higgins. He also met, made music with, and married pianist
Joanne Grogan. The Brackeens produced four children, moved to New York in 1965, and eventually divorced. By the time he made his first album in 1968,
Brackeen had grown into a strong-toned tenor and alto player who in time would display remarkable dexterity on the soprano saxophone as well, sounding very much like
Pharoah Sanders on that horn. Released on the Strata East label, Rhythm X was a reunion of sorts as
Brackeen interacted with
Cherry,
Haden, and
Ed Blackwell on a collectively improvised set worthy of that trio's mentor,
Ornette Coleman.
Brackeen reappeared in 1973 on
Cherry's Relativity Suite, alongside
Dewey Redman,
Frank Lowe, and
Carlos Ward;
Brackeen had elements in common with each of these formidably expressive reedmen. His next opportunity to record occurred in 1975 when violinist
Leroy Jenkins (a participant in the Relativity Suite) invited him to join 17 other instrumentalists (mostly members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) to record the album For Players Only. Like Relativity Suite a production of the
Jazz Composer's Orchestra Association,
Jenkins' first album as a leader included such brilliant minds as
Anthony Braxton,
Dewey Redman,
Leo Smith, and
Jerome Cooper.
Brackeen's presence in an ensemble of this caliber was most significant and reaffirmed his irreversible commitment to music of an uncompromisingly creative nature.
In May 1976
Brackeen was recorded in live performance as a member of a sextet led by trumpeter
Ahmed Abdullah. A marvelous excerpt from their set was included on Volume 3 of the legendary Wildflowers: New York Loft Sessions, released on LP in 1977 by Douglas/Casablanca records. During this time period,
Abdullah and
Brackeen, along with drummer
Roger Blank and bassist
Ronnie Boykins, were members of a collective ensemble known as the Melodic Art-tet.
Brackeen was the featured soloist on
Paul Motian's 1977 ECM album Dance, the product of a trio session that was greatly enhanced by the bass viol of
David Izenzon. In 1979,
Motian invited
Brackeen back to record a second, spacier album for ECM (
Le Voyage), this time in the company of bassist
Jean-François Jenny-Clark. Also in 1979
Brackeen joined an ensemble led by bassist
William Parker on the wild and wooly free jazz album Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace. In February 1980
Charles Brackeen and
Ed Blackwell performed as a duo at Soundscape on 52nd St. in New York City. Two examples from their collaboration there and then were made available to the public in 1999 on the DIW compilation Live from Soundscape: Hell's Kitchen.
The next chapter in the saga of
Charles Brackeen found him blowing his horns next to
Byard Lancaster in
Ronald Shannon Jackson's newly formed
Decoding Society.
Brackeen contributed his best energies to that group's first two albums, Eye on You (1980) and Nasty (1981). His next opportunity to make records occurred in 1987 when he enjoyed a brief but productive business relationship with the Silkheart record label. In addition to three albums released under his own name,
Brackeen sat in with Texas trumpeter
Dennis Gonzalez and His New Dallas Sextet, involving additional trumpeter
Ahmed Abdullah, reedman
Douglas Ewart, bassist
Malachi Favors, and drummer
Alvin Fielder, Jr. Several members of this group were involved in the first of
Brackeen's three Silkheart albums,
Bannar. Two other albums, Attainment and
Worshippers Come Nigh were recorded during one day's work and teamed
Brackeen with cornetist
Olu Dara, bassist
Fred Hopkins, and drummer
Andrew Cyrille. As
Charles Brackeen's overall recorded output is unusually small, it is not unreasonable to hope that eventually a thorough reissuing of his complete works as both leader and sideman will encourage and facilitate a respectful and open-minded reappraisal of this artist's entire career. ~ arwulf arwulf