CROCE FOR A NEW GENERATION PLENTY OF MUSICAL TALENT COMES ALONG WITH FAMOUS NAME.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

A.J. Croce stands apart from the dozens of kids of famous musicians attempting to make a go of it armed with little more than a hill of chords and a mountain of last-name recognition.

First of all, Croce isn't trading on his late dad's fame, and he's a strikingly gifted singer and songwriter in his own right. That becomes evident when you simply glance at some of the people who've gladly recorded with him over the past dozen years - Ry Cooder, David Hidalgo, Jim Keltner, Greg Leisz, T-Bone Burnett.

Those folks didn't show up because they dug A.J.'s father, singer-songwriter Jim Croce (``Time in a Bottle,'' ``Bad, Bad Leroy Brown''), but because the 33-year-old performer, who has overcome unusual hardship, is a talented songsmith and music lover with a wide range of influences and tastes. A conversation with Croce alights on Professor Longhair, Nick Drake, Miles Davis, Graham Nash, the Meters and Terry Reid, among others.

``I guess I began playing blues and roots music and got into New Orleans r&b and English folk and all kinds of other things,'' Croce said from his San Diego home. ``Everything you really love will come out in your own music.''

Croce and band appear tonight at the Malibu Inn in support of the singer's fifth album, ``Adrian James Croce'' (Seedling). The collection of 14 sweetly melodic piano-driven numbers brings to mind '70s and '80s hitmakers like Stevie Wonder, Wings and Squeeze, and the track ``Don't Let Me Down'' is earning airplay on satellite and commercial radio formats.

``I avoided the urge to layer instruments on top of instruments,'' Croce said. ``I wanted to keep things direct. At some point, you start thinking you must have cellos, mandolin, bass clarinet and French horn - but when it comes down to it, I'm just playing guitar and piano.''

An only child, Croce was just 2 when his father died in a 1973 plane crash. The tragedy was compounded when, two years later, A.J. was blinded as the result of a brain tumor. Over the next six years, Croce gradually regained vision in his left eye, and it was during this period that he took up piano.

``I learned to play music by listening and playing along to the radio and to records,'' he said. ``At some point, I was given the music of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder as inspiration, which it was - and has been ever since.''

Among many rave reviews, the New Times labeled Croce ``a song crafter of the first order.''

Croce's first gigs took place at San Diego clubs and coffee shops, where the musically adept singer worked as a sideman or bandleader. Later, he opened shows for such diverse artists as Santana, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Dave Matthews. He cut his first record at age 19, moving over five albums from bluesy efforts to the lyrically introspective, musically sophisticated place he currently inhabits.

``I'm into every kind of music,'' he said. ``You could say I was unfocused, but I consider eclectic taste to be the foundation of versatility. To me, that's a plus.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

A.J. CROCE

Where: Malibu Inn, 22969 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu.

When: 9 tonight.

Tickets: $10. [phone], malibu-inn.com.

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no caption (A.J. Croce)