SEASONED WINSTON

George Winston’s continuing foray through the verdant fields of New Age music made its annual appearance Friday and Saturday night at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

As in most of his other large venue concerts of recent years, the pianist devoted a large part of the Friday program to the laid-back, minimalist music which has made him one of the most visible New Age performers. Pieces with titles like “Woods,” Longing,” “Rain,” “Blossom and Meadow” and “Hummingbird” left little to the imagination, as Winston’s white key, Impressionistic style floated through one seemingly interminable nature study after another.

Curiously, considering his New Age identification, Winston describes himself as a performer whose principal influences derive from rhythm & blues and pop music. By his own evaluation, the “slow melodic songs” that make up the bulk of both his recorded output and his concert programs only represent one-tenth of his “overall” playing.

It was appropriate, therefore, that one of the most appealing moments in his 2 1/2-hour solo program occurred when he moved into the bouncy rhythms and distinctly non-New Age energies of Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy” (during which a number of audience members were invited to dance onstage, bringing a much-needed burst of spontaneous combustion to Winston’s leisurely strolls through the seasons.)

He was equally good in a stride piano version of the Swing piece “Cat and Mouse,” which revealed a two-handed, hard-swinging style that owed as much to Fats Waller as it did to Winston’s own too frequently understated skills as a rhythmic improviser.

Halfway through the evening, Winston announced that he would be appearing in another, smaller venue Saturday night playing in a stride piano jam session. One suspects he would be a considerably more fascinating performer if he brought a somewhat larger portion of his late-night skills to his early evening programs.