Called "a fine and funky pianist" by Living Blues magazine (July/August 1996), piano player and composer Craig Brenner has been voted "Best Musician" in Bloomington, Indiana numerous times by readers of the weekly Bloomington Independent. Craig & the Crawdads was 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, studying with composer John Eaton, pianists Joseph Rezits and Enrica Cavallo Gulli, and jazz guru David Baker. Craig has also 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's first recording is "Backstage Boogie" (1990) with drummer Dan Hostetler. His second recording, Play it Again, Professor! (1995), includes award-winning conga drummer and Professor Longhair collaborator 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. Craig's third recording is the jazzy CD Man At the Piano (1997).

The CD Window On the Soul, recorded at Echo Park Studios, Bloomington, IN, includes ten original compositions and features Eli and Nate Brenner as well as Gordon Bonham, Tim Brookshire, James Campbell, Jeff Chapin, Joe Donnelly, Bob Dubinski, Pat Harbison, Andrea Howell, Janiece Jaffe, Brian Lappin, Jane McLeod, Jerry Morris, Stuart Norton, Dave Pavolka, Sonja Rasmussen, Mark Robinson, Sue Swaney, and Pete Wilhoit.

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, and on releases by Piney Woods Blues Party and Andy Ruff and the Dew Daddies.

Whether playing solo jazz, blues, and boogie woogie, jazz with his trio, or leading the zydeco and New Orleans influenced Craig & the Crawdads, Craig promises world-class entertainment that will make you want more.