STEVE WINWOOD

JAMMING is like sex: It’s better to do than to watch.

Brit-rock icon Steve Winwood, the mastermind of the seminal rock band Traffic and a member of the supergroup Blind Faith more than 30 years ago, demonstrated that Monday at the Nokia Theater.

In his three-hour show, which covered the touchstones of his career, including his adult contemporary jazz/rock fusions, Winwood, 57, and his four-piece ensemble noodled the night away. They took simple melodies and expanded them like an old sweater.

The house seemed to dig the near-jazz experience, but the lengthy torturing of tunes rarely felt necessary.

Did 14 minutes of “Rainmaker” say so much more than a succinct rendition of the song would have? And even if it did, the musicianship of the band – especially that of the drummer and percussionist – were so ordinary you had to wonder why they were allowed to solo at all.

As you’d expect, the Traffic songs and Blind Faith numbers such as “Can’t Find My Way Home” were the most welcomed by the decidedly older audience. And when Winwood led his band into that classic repertory that included songs such as “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “The Low Sparks of High Heeled Boys,” the music was tops.

Those songs worked in jam because they have built-in space that demands exploring. On the other hand, the radio hit “Back in the High Life Again” has a more standard verse/chorus/verse structure that, when extended, merely became repetitive.

What did make “High Life” a highlight was Winwood got up from behind his B3 Hammond organ to accent the song with strummed mandolin as he stood center stage. Just by getting up and away from the keyboard, he lent the performance life. The same happened again when he choose to play electric guitar during “Dear Mr. Fantasy.”

It might seem like it was just the Traffic jams that clicked with the crowd and made an impression, but during the encore Winwood and company reached the top of their game with “Higher Love” and kept the momentum moving with the now ancient “Gimme Some Lovin’,” a song Winwood’s been singing since he was 15 in the Spencer Davis Group.

While a three-hour show might be generous, Winwood’s performance would probably have been better had he tightened up the show with less onstage time and more songs.