Brian Crain

Born in Hollywood, Brian Crain displayed an early musical bent yet never received formal instruction, ultimately building a career as pianist and composer. During childhood he declined offered piano lessons in favor of sharpening his baseball skills. While still a teenager handling audio production duties for films, he assembled his own home studio. Professional baseball hopes never materialized, but Crain had already taught himself piano by fashioning original melodies. The 1997 release of his debut album Morning Light brought sufficient recognition to turn music into a full-time vocation. Since then he has issued more than a dozen recordings of his own compositions. Placement of the piano piece Butterfly Waltz in a South Korean drama series has resulted in wider familiarity across Asia than in his native country. Several tours have followed, supported by a sizable regional audience and further licensing of his music for television commercials and programs. Albums such as Piano Opus (2011) and Piano and Light (2009) reflect his interest in fresh approaches, among them unusual meters and minimalist ideas that enhance his characteristically flowing and attractive melodies.