Brackenbury studied violin and piano classically at music school, diversifying into jazz, folk, rock and improvisation at Brunel University. Whilst there she played in the Irish folk band Slainte and with Hot Club bands. Going on to study violin repair at Merton College and then making with luthier John Langstaffe with whom she made the violin she now plays on. She completed a Pg dip in Jazz Performance at Birmingham Conservatoire in 2014 then played and sang with alto sax player Martin Speake in his band Mafarowi, with guitarist Rob Luft and drummer Will Glaser. The two recorded an improvised album ‘Zephyr‘ in 2016. Her ‘KnifeAngel Suite’ sextet ep was released in 2019, in response to the Knife Angel sculpture by Alfie Bradley, and the rising rate of knife crime in the UK .
2020 brought about an ongoing collaboration with jazz drummer and composer Tony Bianco. brackenburybianco.com Their album ‘Rising Up‘ (Discus) was released July 2021.
September 2022 they released their double album ‘Wayward Mystic~improvisations inspired by the music of St.Hildegard von Bingen‘ (Discus) on their Visio Improvisus tour, funded by Arts Council England. September 2023 they released ‘Sentient Beings‘, quartet with Paul Dunmall and John Pope, and then ‘Prema’ (FMR) in with Paul Dunmall and Olie Brice.
Alfie Bradley’s KnifeAngel sculpture started touring UK cities in 2019. The KnifeAngel suite was inspired by this awesome sculpture and feat of craftsmanship that brings awareness to the issues surrounding knife crime and violence in the UK.