I think I first heard this recording played on Bluegrass Country Radio, I think by Sully Roddy. I noticed that Dirk Powell and Michael Doucet were featured on it and ordered a copy. The tune that I heard then was the third of the fifteen cuts on this recording, “Beausoleil Boogie,” which was written by Michael Doucet and recorded by his band, Beausoleil. Ivan plays fiddle on all tracks and sings on three. This is his first solo recording. Dirk plays fiddle on one track, piano on three, sings on three, and plays mandolin and bass on one each. Michael plays fiddle on four tracks and sings on three. Trey Boudreaux plays bass on fourteen tracks and drums on one. Chas Justus plays guitar on all tracks including many lead breaks. Jimmy Breaux plays drums on fourteen tracks and cajun accordion on two. Corey Ledet plays accordion on one track. Cedric Watson plays fiddle on two tracks. Amelia Powell sings harmony on two tracks and plays triangle on three.

The first cut, “Zydeco Minor Swing,” was written by Django Reinhardt and, as the title suggests, it swings in a very Stephane Grapelli style. The title cut, “The First Day of December,” was written by Dirk Powell, who sings lead and plays piano. Next comes “Beausoleil Boogie,” which starts with a bass solo. Both Ivan and Michael fiddle it. “Ain’t Misbehaving” was written by Fats Waller, Andy Razaf, and Harry Brooks. Ivan sings lead. “Really the Blues” is by Mezz Mezzrow with double fiddling by Ivan and Michael. “La Fille de Quatorze Ans” is a traditional cajun tune. It does not say so in the liner notes, but it sounds like Michael singing lead and also fiddling. “I Trusted You as Far as I Could Throw You” is another Dirk original song sung by him. “O Bebe Waltz” is a traditional cajun waltz fiddled by Ivan and Michael and sung by Michael. “Fire on the Bayou” was written by Cyril Neville and Cedric Watson joins on fiddle. “I Already Know the Blues” is from Mitchell Alvarez. Dirk sings lead. Johnny Green, Gus Kahn, and Carmen Lombardo wrote “Coquette,” which is a swing tune featuring Ivan’s fiddle. “My Silent Love” was written by Edward Heyman and Dana Suesse. The liner notes don’t say who is singing, but it sounds like Dirk. I also hear a piano, which is probably him, also not listed. Eddie Green and Lucile Marie Handy wrote “Deep River Blues.” Again, the liner notes do not credit the vocalist, but it sounds like Ivan. Amelia is singing harmony. “La Valse J’aime” is another traditional cajun waltz with Michael on fiddle and vocals.  “Sitting on Top of the World,” which is one of the most recorded songs of all time, was written by Walter Vinson. Cedric Watson brings his soulful fiddle to this one. I think Ivan’s fiddle is in the left track and Cedric’s is in the right, though I’m not sure of that. Ivan is singing lead.

There’s a lot of great music in several genres on this recording. If you like cajun music, swing, and a few other types of music played by virtuosos, this could be your cup of tea. This project was recorded in Dirk’s Louisiana studio, and he also wrote the liner notes.

You can order it from https://ivanstrunin.bandcamp.com/album/the-first-day-of-december