Very little is known of blues pianist Charles Avery, though his one extant recording, "Dearborn Street Breakdown," reveals a few clues. The title as well as the style of the particular recording suggests a strong Chicago connection, an impression reinforced by the associates with whom he is known to have played and recorded. About 20 years later, records like "Dearborn Street Breakdown," which displays a prodigious piano technique, with a little accompaniment added, would become the stuff of which really good rock & roll was made. ~ Bruce Eder