STING STILL BREAKING NEW GROUND.

Byline: Reed Johnson Staff Writer

Sixteen years after splitting from the Police, Sting has become one of mainstream pop's foremost cultural emissaries, roaming the planet in search of obscure musical textures to bring back and share with the masses.

He assumes that role again with his latest solo release (his seventh), ``Brand New Day,'' a typically well-crafted, propulsively polyglot disc that demonstrates the British musician's intuitive grasp of jazz, Algerian dance pop and bossa nova, to name only the most obvious elements.

Opening a four-show engagement Tuesday night at Universal Amphitheatre, Sting and his current band of collaborators made multiple forays into the ever-expanding realm of world pop without ever losing their rhythmic compass. A bass-driven reggae undercurrent remains the touchstone of most every little thing Sting does, and it sustains his music even when he can't quite mesh his wide array of influences into a seamless, organic sound.

Sting explicitly acknowledged his reggae roots about midway through the two-hour set when he launched into ``Roxanne,'' complete with a wailing ``dub'' solo and an unprompted audience call-and-response chorus. But mostly Sting faced the musical future, as he has been doing with thoughtful curiosity for well on two decades.

Leading off with the insistent, two-beat ``A Thousand Years'' from his new release, Sting cast himself in the familiar role of a mystic cosmic traveler who'd rather be home with his loved ones. ``Mad About You'' and ``Seven Days'' played variations on the theme of an introspective lover struggling to convey his feelings through transcendent metaphors.

Over the years, Sting's voice has developed into the perfect instrument for these kinds of expressions. An unusual fusion of grit and ethereality, it floats over his funky bass lines and skitters across the tops of his literary allusions before breaking into a bluesy groan or an ecstatic yelp.

These elements all came together on such well-constructed songs as the new ``Fill Her Up,'' a neat four-minute parable of Middle American redemption that segues dramatically from country to gospel.

However, the song cried out for brassier backup from Sting's three female chorines. Though he unleashed guitarist Dominic Miller for a couple of brief solos and brought back his opening act, the French-Algerian singer Cheb Mami, for an encore, the star of the show was in no danger of being upstaged by his band.

Sting closed with two encore sets that included a plaintive solo acoustic version of ``Message in a Bottle,'' ``Brand New Day,'' ``If I Ever Lose My Faith in You'' and a hopeful rather than brooding rendition of ``Every Breath You Take.''

Somewhat surprisingly, he wrapped up this upbeat, future-gazing concert on an ambivalent note, observing ``how fragile we are.'' Even so, Sting's career looks as robust as ever.

THE FACTS

What: Sting.

Where: Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City.

When: 8:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Tickets: $35 to $125.

Information: [phone].

Our rating: Three stars.

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Photo

Photo: Sting, whose bass-driven music plucks influences from all over the world, continues his stand at the Unversal Amphitheatre.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer