Winwood blends past, present

His new album was originally released two years ago on his own label.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
While you see a chance, take it.
For Steve Winwood, this lifelong philosophy toward his musical craft put him in some of the biggest bands to emerge from the seminal and glorified late '60s era of rock music.
Today, this music legend continues to live the high life with his concerts acting as a veritable Rock Hall history lesson. A solo Winwood returns to Northeast Ohio for an "Evening With" show Oct. 5 at the House of Blues.
"I try to play roughly about a three-hour set and cover everything from the Spencer Davis Band, Blind Faith, Traffic, my solo stuff from the '80s and also right through my latest disc, 'About Time,'" said Winwood, calling from Anaheim, Calif.
"I keep adding songs and I cannot possibly play all of them, but I do change the set up every night and put different songs in."
Originally released two years ago on his own label, Wincraft Music, with very little press or fanfare, "Out of Time" is getting another push by Epic Records, which is re-releasing it nationally in a dual disc format in November. The label also recently signed Winwood, known for solo hits "While You See a Chance," "Higher Love" and "Roll with It," to a one-album deal for his next project, due out next summer.
Traffic jam
As for "Out of Time," it marks a back-to-basics approach for Winwood, whose '90s albums were invariably overproduced. But diehard fans know this Birmingham, England, native's musical roots lie in jazz and experimental rock, which explains why Traffic was a 2004 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
"Traffic was a jam band," Winwood said. "Of course, that term wasn't in existence during the life of Traffic, but it was a jam band and someone else had mentioned to me recently, which was something that had never occurred to me, there aren't that many English jam bands. I suppose there were people like Cream and that kind of thing."
He added, "For Traffic, songwriting was a vehicle. Jim [Capaldi] and I used to like to play together and then the songs became a vehicle for our playing, which is a little different to some people who set out in perhaps a more traditional way of writing songs. And we did use lots and lots of improvisation, so it kept everything fresh every time we played, every show we played."
This includes the band's last live shows, which took place during a 1994 reunion tour, exactly 20 years after the group broke up.
End of an era
As for the Traffic Rock Hall nod, it's bittersweet for Winwood, who cherishes his moment in the spotlight; however, not long after the induction, Capaldi was diagnosed with cancer. A Traffic reunion tour was scrapped (Capaldi died earlier this year) but Winwood is paying tribute to his friend with the recently released DVD "The Last Great Traffic Jam."
Featuring plenty of live footage and intimate moments, the DVD remains a lasting memory of one of the '60s more creative outfits.
"Jim and I had a mutual agreement that neither of us would tour without the other," Winwood said. "So of course, in that case, Traffic will now no longer be. Traffic has kind of ceased to exist as it were. So we feel now is the time to put out this DVD, and people can have a glimpse as to what Traffic is about."