Called "a fine and funky pianist" by Living Blues magazine (July/August 1996), piano player Craig Brenner has been voted "Best Musician" in Bloomington, Indiana numerous times by readers of the weekly Bloomington Independent. Craig & the Crawdads has been rated best local band in the same poll. A graduate of Florida Southern College, Craig attended the Indiana University School of Music from 1976 through 1980, where he studied piano with Enrica Cavallo, Joseph Rezits, and Alphonso Montecino, jazz improv with David Baker, and composition with John Eaton. Prior to 1976, Craig lived in North Miami Beach, FL, where he studied piano with Elizabeth Fishbein, jazz piano with Wally Cirillo, arranging with Tony Pandy, and performed in the stage band at Miami-Dade Community College North under the direction of jazz trumpeter John Giorgini.

In 1979, Craig attended the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and appreciated first-hand Professor Longhair, James Booker, Tuts Washington, Dr. John and Fats Domino. Exposure to these New Orleans Piano Professors caused Craig to reevaluate his musical direction. Charles Brown, Memphis Slim, Ray Charles, the early boogie woogie players, and other jazz and blues stylists have since become part of Craig's musical vocabulary.

In 1981, Craig and a few friends formed the jazz-funk band "Kruise Kontrol." This was followed in 1984 by the fusion trio "Sajonner" with T.J. Jones and Saaku Saar; in 1985 by New Orleans R&B band "Rhythm Method" with Kim Morgan, Jack Wilkins, Peter Roller, Kevin Newcomb, and Steve Johnson; also in 1985, rhythm and blues band "Craig & the Crawdads" first appeared. Their line-up currently includes guitarist Gordon Bonham, drummer Tim Brookshire, bassist Nate Brenner, vocalist Lori Brenner, accordionist David Wierhake, sax player Joe Donnelly, and occasionally Craig's son Eli, always featuring Craig's piano. Since 2001, the group has often included the Crawdettes, female vocalists including Lori Brenner, Sue Swaney, Jane McLeod, Laura Carlson, Sonja Rasmussen, and Andrea Fiedler.

In 1986, Jim Bracken, Gordon Bonham, Brian Lappin and Craig formed the now legendary roots-rock "Ragin' Texans." Featuring exciting drummers Kenny Aronoff or Tim Brookshire, the Texans proved to be one of the most popular bands in Indiana for seven years, and now perform for special occasions.

Since leaving I.U., Craig has studied with boogie woogie and stride piano master Bob Seeley and blues pianist Big Joe Duskin through a grant Craig received from the Indiana Arts Commission. Craig has played with Bo Didley and opened shows for B. B. King, C. J. Chenier, Queen Ida, Buckwheat Zydeco, Gary Burton, Richard Thompson, Wayne Toups, Honeyboy Edwards, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, the Radiators, Duke Robillard, Jimmy Rogers, and Terrance Simien. He has also regularly played piano at restaurants, clubs and festivals including StoneSong, Hoosierfest, Oliver Winery, Taste of Bloomington, Indianapolis' Circle Fest, Broadripple Art Festival, Broadripple Music Fest, Penrod Art Festival, the Ethnic and Sunburst Festivals in South Bend, the Uptown Jazz and Blues Festival in Lafayette, Washington Street Festival in Muncie and the Cincinnati Blues Fest.

Craig has performed live on numerous radio and television stations including WFYI (Indianapolis), WVPE (Elkhart), WFHB (Bloomington), WFIU and WTIU (Bloomington). His solo piano set at the 1997 Queen City Blues Festival in Cincinnati was recorded by the Blues Foundation of Memphis and broadcast worldwide on the radio program "Beale Street Caravan." For information or to obtain a copy, contact the Blues Foundation at 901-527-2583. Craig returns to Cincinnati each summer to join blues and boogie-woogie piano players from around the world appearing on the Arches Piano Stage at the Blues Fest. He also performs in New Orleans during the Jazz & Heritage Festival at the New Orleans Jazz National Park in the French Quarter.

Craig's first recording is "Backstage Boogie" (1990) with drummer Dan Hostetler. His second recording, Play it Again, Professor! (1995), includes New Orleans conga drummer, Professor Longhair collaborator, and 2005 recipient of the Sidney Bechet Award for Innovation presented by the New Orleans International Music Colloquium, Alfred "Uganda" Roberts, drummers Kenny Aronoff and Tim Brookshire, guitarists Gordon Bonham and Stuart Norton, vocalists Janet Summers and Laura Carlson, bassists Brian Lappin and John Huber, tenor sax-man Dennis Riggins, and trombonists Tim Riggins and Dave Pavolka. Play It Again, Professor! includes both solo piano and ensemble performances and four original compositions. Craig's third recording is the CD Man At the Piano (1997).

Craig's CD Window On the Soul, recorded at Echo Park Studios, Bloomington, IN, showcases his music writing and arranging skills. Craig is currently recording an album of all original music featuring Craig & the Crawdads.

The latest album by Craig Brenner & the Crawdads, Live to Love, recorded at Farm Fresh Studios in Bloomington, was released on July 17, 2009. It features all original music, with the first appearance on record of vocalist Lori Brenner, who sings lead on six of the ten tunes. More information about Live to Love will be posted soon.

Craig is also featured on the Cooler Kings' CD "Looks Like Trouble" on the Slippery Noodle label, on Cathi Norton's "Various Stages of Undress" on Flat Rock Records, on the new R & B recording by Piney Woods Blues Party, and the new country CD by Andy Ruff and the Dew Daddies.

For over six years Craig hosted a radio program in Bloomington, IN, entitled "Play It Again, Professor!" on WFHB 91.3 & 98.1 FM Community Radio. The show focused on post-ragtime American piano styles and artists, featuring a different artist or genre each week. The show aired from January of 1993 until July of 1999.

In addition to performing and recording, Craig composes, arranges, and teaches advanced piano students the fundamentals of jazz, blues, and boogie woogie piano. Contact Craig to purchase sheet music for many of his compositions for piano.