IN WITH THE BLUES SOUL GUITARIST ARTHUR ADAMS CELEBRATES NEW YEAR'S WITH A CAN'T-MISS SHOW.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Arthur Adams is ready for New Year's Eve.

During more than two decades as a fixture on the local scene, the funky soul 'n' blues guitarist-singer has played plenty of ``Auld Lang Synes.'' At midnight tonight at Cozy's, the Sherman Oaks club that lives up to its name, Adams will lead the crowd in another round of the year-end perennial, but not before folks have soaked up a magnum or two of good-hearted Southern soul.

Born Christmas Day in Medon, Tenn., and raised on gospel, Adams knows how to deliver the spirit by way of a cherry Gibson ES-335 guitar.

``I'm ready, willing and able. That's the thing about New Year's - people are in a good mood, they're grooving out the old year and grooving in the new. People are in a partying mood, they're hanging with their friends,and they like to go to places they're familiar with where they know the atmosphere is right.''

While the night offers plenty of diversions - from a huge outdoor event downtown to TV's traditional Times Square broadcasts - musicians and others in the know will be seeking out the sonic equivalent of a blazing fireplace. That's where blues comes in. And if you're a nonbeliever - prepare to be convinced.

``It's the lyrics and the sound,'' Adams explains. ``Blues players sweat, we get with the crowd, we respond to the audience. People can relate. It's about real life from the streets. We're not standing up there pressing buttons on a drum machine.

``When you play blues, there's no escaping the human element. Those chords have a sound that makes you feel earthy. It's a language people can understand. And when you put a story behind it - my woman left me, I've got problems at home - it can really reach you. Whether it's a shuffle or a hip-hop groove, the blues is a basic element. It's the foundation.''

Adams acolytes include Cozy's owner Steve Rakoczy, who says the guitarist not only draws from the Sherman Oaks-Studio City-North Hollywood corridor, but also brings music lovers from throughout the area to his local dates.

``Arthur is a truly talented all-around musician who's doing something which shouldn't be rare today, but it is rare,'' Rakoczy said. ``He's a guy with one foot in the blues who also speaks the language of soul, gospel and jazz. He's paid dues, recorded a lot of albums and still plays from the heart. It's just good music,and even if you know nothing about blues or think you only like rock 'n' roll or hip-hop, you're gonna find out about the real stuff.''

While Adams started out on the gospel train, he took a detour in the '60s and '70s, becoming a first-call studio hand at film, TV and jazz sessions, where he played on Crusaders, James Brown, James Taylor and Jimmy Smith albums, Quincy Jones dates and countless other recordings. Along the way, he waxed a string of solo efforts, including his latest, ``Soul of the Blues,'' and led the house band at longtime pal B.B. King's joint at Universal CityWalk from its '94 opening through '02.

``B.B.'s a beautiful person. He works so much throughout the year, and the reason is he loves what he does and he supports the people who work for him. But most of all, he loves to play music.''

That last comment also sums up Adams' own motivation. And like King, the Gardena-based guitarist can be counted on for loyalty. It's one of the reasons the shaved-headed Adams has been such a welcome and beloved addition to the Cozy's calendar over the past three years.

``I wish there were more places like Cozy's. It's run by people who love the music. It's a blues club and they stick with that tradition. Y'know, you hear sometimes that the blues is suffering - but you'd never get that feeling there.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

ARTHUR ADAMS

Where: Cozy's, 14058 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

When: 8 tonight.

Tickets: $25 show only, $60 dinner and show. [phone]; cozysblues.com.

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Photo:

Arthur Adams, a legend on the L.A. blues scene, will ring in 2005 at Cozy's in Sherman Oaks.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer