Upcoming

Past

FROM CHICAGO SCENES TO GLOBAL STAGES

Charles "JP" Craig, a seasoned jazz pianist, grew up in Chicago playing at his father’s church. Mentored by the legendary Ramsey Lewis, an innovative artist who taught him the importance of playing with dynamic versatility, Charles honed his skills early on. During his formative years, he performed alongside Lewis’s sons, Bobby and Frayne, in the Brothers Lewis Trio, gaining invaluable experience. Mulgrew Miller also mentored Charles in hard bop, shaping his musical foundations.

Charles refined his craft at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where his piano teacher, Donald Brown, deepened his knowledge of jazz theory, soloing techniques, and song form, inspiring him to create and record original compositions and arrangements.

He toured extensively with the Art Porter Band, Teodross Avery Quartet, Roy Hargrove Quintet, Arturo Sandoval Sextet, and the Christian McBride Quartet, performing across America, Europe, Canada, Cuba, South America, and Australia. Charles recorded with Teodross on In Other Words tracks 1 to 5 and 7 to 12, produced by Michael Cuscuna and featuring Roy Hargrove, and My Generation tracks 1, 5, 7, and 10, produced by Carl Griffin.

Charles recorded with Christian McBride on A Family Affair tracks 1 to 9, produced by George Duke and featuring Will Downing, Vesta, and the great Russell Malone. A jazz legend, Charles signed on with Grusin Rosen Productions (GRP), led by grammy award winner Tommy LiPuma, and began working on his first solo album, produced by Joshua Redman.

Throughout his career, Charles has collaborated with many jazz greats, including Joshua Redman, Joe Henderson, Johnny Griffin, Steve Turre, Nicholas Payton, Vincent Gardner, Ali Jackson, Gerald Cannon, Clark Terry, Wes Anderson, David Sanchez, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Delfeayo Marsalis, Sherman Irby, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, Adjua Scott, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Teodross Avery, Wynton Marsalis, and Art Porter, among others.