Experienced jazz musician performs at Cafe Django

Many restaurants offer their customers a live musician for the evening. However, the music often blends into the background. 

On Friday, Café Django defied that stereotype, creating a quaint atmosphere by inviting personable pianist Craig Brenner to play.

“Many times we are hired to play, but expected to be background,” Brenner said. “That isn’t the case here.”

He said he recognizes a tendency for musicians to end up as background music, and while his performance was more engaging and reactionary, there are some aspects of that type of performance Brenner said he embraces.

Unlike background music, he said it is important for a performance to become interactive. Brenner said he should not lose himself into his music because he wants to watch for people’s reactions and then adjust his performance to match the audience’s mood, he said.

“Part of music is communicating, and if you’re not communicating ... it’s not successful,” Brenner said.

The 64-year-old musician first discovered Café Django as an avid customer. He recommends the nutty noodles with tofu. However, he was approached to play in the restaurant by its owner after performing in the Grant Street Jazz Festival.
“After I played, Linda (Eversoll) and some of the staff here really liked my music, and so they said, ‘you need to come in and play here,” Brenner said.

Now, he plays at the Peruvian-Asian restaurant on a monthly basis. Friday’s performance included different genres of music aside from jazz, such as stride and boogie-woogie, as well as vocals.

Audience member Kritika Murli munched on pita and hummus at a table not far from the piano. 

“I really enjoyed getting to hear quality music,” she said. “It’s different from the mainstream music of today.”

Café Django’s conducive atmosphere complemented Brenner’s performance. Perhaps it came from the soft lighting, or the assorted jazz-themed posters and knick-knacks filling the restaurant. No matter what it was, the mixture of music and food created an experience the jazz-themed café embraces.

“It’s the only place like this in Bloomington,” Brenner said.