Michael was born in New York City in 1960, but grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. His musical career began as therapy, when at the age of 15 he took up strumming the guitar to strengthen his wrist after a skateboard accident. Following his graduation from Berkeley High School when he was 15½, he moved to Seattle and frequented local jam sessions, keeping his fingers on the guitar strings and his mind on making his music reach a wider audience. Says Powers, "I learned how to play by sitting in at as many places as I could, developing eclectic tastes by playing with all types of bands: Jazz, Rock, Blues, R&B, and Top 40. I wanted to learn how to play any kind of music that featured a guitar as a solo voice.". On stage, Michael has shared billings with piano giant Herbie Hancock, classic Jazz saxophonist Eddie "Clean Head" Vinson, the legendary Ray Charles, Afro-pop star King Sunny Ade, Grammy award-winning vocalist Diane Schuur, R&B greats Gladys Knight and the Pips and Atlantic Starr, "If I had to put a label on it, I would call it contemporary instrumental music. It's a sound rooted in the Jazz tradition that keeps pace stylistically with Pop, R&B, and Blues; with Blues being at the core of my inspiration." His powerful performances have regularly commanded standing ovations.

SONGLIST

SONGLIST