Biography

RADIO PROMOTION By Art Menius Radio
Art@artmenius.com https://artmeniusradio.com

Ivan Strunin Presents
The First Day of December, Featuring Dirk Powell and Michael Doucet

Fiddler Ivan Strunin easily explains the genesis of is new album featuring many stars of Louisiana music. “At the Swannanoa Gathering, a chance meeting over lunch with Dirk Powell began the odyssey to the creation of The First Day of December. I had asked Dirk, Katie Glassman, and Darol Anger to back me on a tune at the student concert at the end of the camp. After rehearsing ‘Deep River Blues,’ Dirk started playing ‘My Silent Love,’ Katie and I joined, and it was magical. Dirk was showing me pictures of his studio, Cypress House in Bayou Teche and encouraged me to come down and do a record.

“Dirk assembled a fine cast of musicians as the back-up band; Jimmy Breaux on drums and Cajun accordion, Trey Boudreaux on bass (and drums) Chas Justus on guitar and Dirk on piano and mandolin, Michael Doucet played fiddle and sang on three tunes; Dirk honored me by writing two tunes for the album, one of them, ‘The First Day of December’ is the title track. Amelia Powell, Dirk’s daughter and a star in her own right sang harmonies and played triangle. Cedric Watson joined me on fiddle for a couple of tunes and the great Zydeco accordionist, Corey Ledet played on my reimagining of ‘Minor Swing.’ I was in awe of these great players and their commitment to the project which was mostly recorded live.

“I’ve been a bar musician, currently playing in various Athens, GA area bands, and a lawyer most of the last 40 years at the same time. I wanted to create an album of the music I like to play with an authenticity of tone and period.”

From Dirk Powell’s liner notes: “When Darol didn’t show up for rehearsal [for the Swannanoa concert], Ivan pretended to take his solo, soaring up and down the neck, playing things that were incredibly witty in imitating the style of one of the most accomplished and distinctive fiddlers around. My first reaction was, ‘Woah, you have to be damn good to pull that off!’ My second was, ‘Most people who have the chops to play like that would do nothing else.’”