SUNDAY

William Royce Scaggs—Boz (short for Bosley, a childhood nickname) to his pals—will forever and a day be associated with the infinitely listenable, habitually propulsive rock gems “Lido Shuffle” and “Lowdown.” And his insanely successful 1976 commercial breakthrough, Silk Degrees, is still one of the best-selling catalog albums of all time. Scaggs’ passion managed to cut through all that other mid-’70s radio crap; it was happy music, feet-shuffling horn-driven pop rock for the ages. After a hiatus spent running a nightclub in San Francisco, Scaggs has now teamed up with producer/guitarist Danny Kortchmar (Neil Young, Billy Joel) and reteamed with producer/songwriter/keyboardist David Paich (Toto, Jackson Browne) for a new recording titled Dig, the Boz’s first disc of originals in seven years. Clearly, the team has targeted the playlists of the nation’s smooth-jazz and R&B stations with the new collection, which fuses elements of jazz, rock, and hiphop for a retooling of the Scaggs sound. But his singing and playing are as bright, bluesy, and impassioned as ever. And word is that Scaggs, working hard to remain viable, still rocks in concert. At 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, at the Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW. $36.50. (202) 432-7328. (Buzz McClain)