A deep baritone singer, Brooks has performed on stage with Butch Morris, Lester Bowie, and Jon Hendricks. He also recorded an album with saxophone player James Spaulding, "James Spaulding Plays the Legacy of Duke Ellington" (Storyville, 1977). Brooks had the lead role in the 1985 Anthony Davis opera "X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X". Also, he performed at the Paris Banlieues Bleues Festival in 2005. In his role as Benjamin Sisko, he performed the Frank Sinatra tune "The Best Is Yet to Come" at the conclusion of the "Deep Space Nine" episode "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang" as a duet with James Darren.