BROOKS HAS A DATE WITH DAD FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Garth Brooks, who planned to stay out of the spotlight on the eve of the millennium, is reconsidering. ``My mom passed away last August,'' explains the country superstar, ``and since then, we've been trying to get my father to do many things, without success. Now, something's come up for me to be with Quincy Jones at the White House - that might be the event that gets my dad out for New Year's Eve.''

Brooks, of course, is referring to the colossal D.C. New Year's Eve doings that Jones has had in the planning all year. The singer's ``Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas'' NBC special airs tonight - with Natalie Cole, Trisha Yearwood and Tony Bennett joining Garth as he unveils the big-band holiday sound that can also be found on his new ``Magic of Christmas'' album.

But don't think all that big-band music means Garth is giving up his foray into pop with his Chris Gaines persona. His planned Chris Gaines movie, ``The Lamb,'' is being scripted, and when the script is to his and Paramount's liking, he'll go into production, he says.

He still believes in Gaines and the Gaines music, despite widespread critical roasting and meager (for Garth) sales for his ``Life of Chris Gaines'' album. ``It's a brand-new artist. If the music is strong enough, eventually, people will get used to the idea,'' he says. He also says there'll be another Chris Gaines album ready for release in conjunction with the feature. He's just starting work on the songs. ``The script is going to tell a lot'' about what that music will entail.

Discord at Arista 

The ugly renegotiation struggle between Arista Records founder and chief, 66-year-old Clive Davis, and the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) that owns Arista has stirred the ire of many in the record business. The pop-music mogul broke records with the $50-million contract he signed in 1995 to lead Arista. It expires in June, and BMG reportedly wants him to agree to a succession plan if he's to stay at the company - and has L.A. Reid lined up to replace him as president. Such Davis artists as Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow are lining up on his behalf. So is producer Arif Mardin, who has worked with Davis on albums by artists including Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick.

``Clive is not ready for retirement. He's a bundle of energy, and he continues to be tremendously successful - I mean, he has a No. 1 hit with Santana,'' says Mardin. He adds, ``Why fix it if it's not broken?''

Davis's roller-coaster career has taken him from the pits - being fired from the presidency of Columbia Records in 1973 after being accused of mishandling funds - to the peaks, shepherding supertalents from Janis Joplin to Annie Lennox.

On a different note

The Istanbul-born Mardin and Atlantic Records chief Ahmet Ertegun are ``going to try again in spring'' to line up an all-star concert to benefit victims of this year's devastating earthquake in Turkey. They attempted to put such plans into effect this fall. Trouble was, too many top acts, like Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand, have been tied up with millennium-related tours and special concert bookings. Right now, Mardin's focus is on Jewel's engaging new Christmas album, which he produced. She'll pop up on ``The Tonight Show'' on Dec. 8.

Loss ... not gain

Denzel Washington didn't beef up to play boxer Hurricane Carter in the upcoming ``Hurricane'' feature - he lost some 40 pounds.

Breaking out

Marina Sirtis, who reprises her ``Star Trek: The Next Generation'' character on tonight's ``Star Trek: Voyager,'' says it's really been a struggle to get the industry to see her as anything other than Counselor Deanna Troi since ``TNG'' went off the air. ``People say, `We know her work, but she's not right for this particular role.' Well, I am right, but because Troi isn't right, they'll pass. She was so calm and cerebral, and I'd always played much stronger, volatile parts.'' Sirtis does get to play an obsessed cult leader in ``Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict'' that airs next week, but believes the big-screen ``Meg Foster'' she's set to shoot in England next year will really show her versatility. ``It's a film-noir, teen-age movie, and the character I play is totally evil ... black through and through, beyond redemption. After `Meg Foster,' they'll be calling me to play Cruella De Ville,'' she says with a laugh.

With reports by Stephanie DuBois.

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3 Photos

Photo: (1) BROOKS

(2) WASHINGTON

(3) SIRTIS