Dirk Powell   -  Biography

While considered one of the world's leading experts on traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo styles, Dirk Powell has a foundation in the classical realm, having begun piano study at age 8 before switching to Baroque harpsichord at 10. In his early teens, he formed a musical bond with his grandfather, James Clarence Hay of Ashland, Ky., and discovered a personal resonance with the music of his mountain heritage.

Most notably, Powell worked with Anthony Minghella and T Bone Burnett on the music for the film Cold Mountain. His score for the Steve James documentary Stevie, which won first place at the Amsterdam Film Festival and the cinematography prize at Sundance 2003, has received wide acclaim. He composed music for and performed in Victor Nuez's film Coastlines, which premiered at Sundance 2002. He was chosen as fiddle and banjo soloist for Mychael Danna's score to Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil, for which he also recorded an end-credit version of "What's Simple Is True" with the pop singer Jewel.

His banjo playing can be heard in Spike Lee's Bamboozled and Edward Burns' The Brothers McMullen. His fiddling was featured in Riverdance: The Show, for which he chose and arranged traditional American material. He has also appeared in the BBC/RTE documentary series The Irish Empire as an expert on the culture of the Scots-Irish who immigrated to the Appalachian Mountains in the 1700s. He collaborated on a fusion of Appalachian music and hip-hop with Richmond producer/rapper Danja Mowf for the film From the Holler to the Hood, which looks at tension between guards and inmates in the new maximum security prisons in Appalachia.

Rounder Records has released three of Powell's solo albums including Time Again in 2004. He also teamed with Tony Furtado for a 1999 album.