A CENTURIES old barn on a rustic Connecticut road has hosted many a fine folk musician over the decades thanks to the hospitality of its musician owners Will and Katie Tressler, and has served as one of those special venues for a number of Shamrock Irish Traditional Music Society (SITMS) concerts as well.

Their knack for finding the right place for the extraordinary musicians they showcase to the greater Fairfield region of the Nutmeg State is unrivaled, and it has led to an exceptional performance series that began with fiddler Kevin Burke over eight years ago.

Last Sunday night, they welcomed the fiddle master back to this Easton locale along with guitarist Cal Scott as the final night of their brief tour launching their new recording Across the Black River. It could hardly have been a more complimentary night at Tressler's barn.

The SITMS president and evening emcee Gregg Burnett described the barn's interior as "one of the warmest places to hear Irish music in Connecticut," and the capacity crowd filled every available chair and bench that were neatly arranged to provide an intimate evening with two gifted musicians.

Every inch of the barn oozed history of one sort or another, either of the rural agricultural/country life vein or of the folk music programs that adorned the front wall behind the makeshift stage. If the setting made your mind wander visually, then the musical program performed by Mssrs. Burke and Scott transported you in a sublime and escapist manner on the cool but comfortable spring interlude.

If their recent recording and this evening's concert are any guide, Burke and Scott are well-matched musical friends back in Oregon who have come together at this stage of their lives to produce music that is as soothing as it is imaginative.

Burke's legendary fiddle playing is clean and mellifluous as the bow trips over the notes transporting you from one clime to another without ever leaving your seat. Interpreting Scott's compositions like "Paris Nights" and "The Lighthouse Keeper's Waltz," Burke evoked all the romance of a Parisian caf as well as the reunion of the lonely Scottish Lighthouse keeper's return to his wife when his duty is over.

He showed his spiritual side in Bill Monroe's "Evening Prayer Blues" and in his interpretation of Phil Cunningham's ode to his late brother "For Johnny," Burke's former bandmate in the Celtic Fiddle Festival, that provides a stark ending on the album with great sensitivity.

Of course, we know the Bothy Band and Patrick Street contributions of Kevin Burke that have placed him at the very top of Irish traditional music for style and interpretation for decades. But he is playing better than ever.

His Sligo roots were showing with his composition "Across the Black River," the title track named for his mother's home place and with a selection of Michael Coleman reels long as "The Long Set."

The five include the Boys of the Lough/Master Crowleys/Sean Sa Cheo/Reel of Rio/Paddy Ryan's Dream and the Wind that Shakes the Barley that literally stirred the crowd every bit as the album cut where Johnny B. Connolly, Michael McGoldrick and Phil Baker are added for maximum impact.

Scott performed two original folk songs "Up the Missouri" that depicted some of the real-life adventure of the Lewis and Clark expedition that opened up the west, and a fanciful "Carved Wood Box" that gave a more imaginative journey to the history of his mandolin than a Google search by serial number could.

It was a nice night for easy listening in a venue made for music and musicians like this, and we were fortunate to share its availability on the occasion of the Tresslers' 34th wedding anniversary which only enhanced the evening as they received flowers from the Shamrogues.

The new CD is available at www.kevinburke.com on his new label Loftus Music.