Charles Brackeen

{{Short description|American jazz saxophonist (1940–2021)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Charles Brackeen

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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1940|03|13}}

| birth_place = Eufaula, Oklahoma, United States

| death_date = {{Death date|2021|11|05}}

|death_place = Carson, California

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| instrument = Saxophone

| genre = Jazz

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| label = Strata-East, Silkheart

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Charles Brackeen (March 13, 1940, in Eufaula, Oklahoma, United States – November 5, 2021, Carson, California){{cite book|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=311}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.jazzhot.net/PBEvents.asp?ItmID=36897 | title=Charles Brackeen | website=Jazzhot | language=French | access-date=June 3, 2022}} was an American jazz saxophonist who primarily played tenor saxophone, but also played soprano saxophone. He was previously married to pianist Joanne Brackeen, with whom he had four children.

Brackeen originally studied violin and piano before switching to saxophone at the age of 10. He played in a recording with members of the Ornette Coleman Quartet in 1968 and on Jazz Composer's Orchestra recordings by Don Cherry (1973), Leroy Jenkins (1975), and Paul Motian for ECM (1978 and 1979). He recorded again as a leader in 1987, when he recorded three albums for Silkheart Records.