Craig Owens holds a B.A. from Wichita State, graduating in 1968. Married with four children, Owens and his family lived on Montserrat and Antigua, British West Indies from 1975 to 1983. As a performer and composer he has been active locally since 1984, performing in clubs, restaurant and concerts with duos, trios, and the Bodo Ensemble. He has performed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, New York, Paris and Amsterdam with Bodo Ensemble and toured Brazil in 2000, performing and lecturing in Porto Allegre, Passo Fundo and Santa Maria. Owens has released five cds of original compositions. In the field of education, Owens taught beginning guitar, guitar for non-majors, jazz guitar, jazz improvisation and coached jazz combos at Wichita State University from 1984 to 2013. He directed Jazz Program at WSU and directed Wichita Jazz Festival from 2009 to 2013.
A long-time pillar of the Wichita art community, Craig Owens’ work over the past decades has added a variety of vistas to Wichita’s cultural landscape. His music – performed by the ever-evolving Bodo Ensemble – has served as one of the area’s major voices of jazz and experimental music, providing inspiration and direction for many generations of Wichita’s young musicians. During his long career teaching at Wichita State University, he guided countless students to a deeper understanding of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Akira Kurosawa, William Faulkner, and a pantheon of other artists. From 2010 to 2013, he served as the President of the Wichita Jazz Festival, bringing in many of the biggest up-and-coming jazz musicians in the world.
After leaving Wichita State in the spring of 2013, Craig turned his attentions to exploring his other artistic ambitions, particularly in the areas of painting and photography. Drawing inspiration from his love of African art, his fascination with abstract expressionism, and his extensive musical background, Craig Owens has begun his search for a new personal visual language.