Bob Brozman, John McSherry and Dónal O’Connor

What do you get when you put Irish uilleann piper John McSherry, fiddler Dónal O’Connor and American slide-guitarist Bob Brozman together in a music studio for six days to see what they come up with? The flawless, entertaining, 11-tune gem Six Days in Down, recorded in the County Down town of Downpatrick. “Brelydian” is a breezy, slow polka featuring Brozman on various guitars, including tricone resonator guitar, written by the trio in the Lydian mode. “Portaferry Swing,” with Brozman on tricone guitar, is an irresistible, rollicking, traditional-style medley of three tunes—“Ragtime Annie,” “The Boys of Portaferry” and “The Cameronian Reel.” “Róise Na bhFonn—Tuneful Rose,” with Brozman on Kona Hawaiian guitar, is a slow, moving tribute to O’Connor’s grandmother, his first fiddle teacher. Brozman’s well-traveled ethnomusicological bent is evident on the Middle-Eastern-sounding “Beer Belly Dancing,” composed using “Irish phrasing played in an Arabic mode,” as Brozman described it on his website (www.bobbrozman.com/sixdaysindown.html). Irish vocalist Stephanie Makem makes a lovely appearance on “A Mháire Bruinhall,” which features Brozman on baritone tricone guitar and McSherry on low-F whistle.