Winwood one of the few soul survivors The spate of teen-oriented fluff-pop notwithstanding, being a teen singer doesn't necessarily denote immature talent. Steve Winwood, who plays the Florida Theatre Wednesday, is a case in point. He joined the Spencer Davis Group at 15, coformed jam-rockers Traffic at 18 and recorded with supergroup Blind Faith (with Eric Clapton) at 21. All of which constituted an eventful six years for the artist who was hailed as a child prodigy in his native England. A lot of artists would be happy to have that many highlights over their entire careers. Winwood went on to a highprofile solo career in the '80s (his hit Higher Love was one of the decades most hummable tunes), and eventually reunited with former Traffic mate Jim Capaldi in 1994. But success wasn't all peaches and cream, he said. ''In those [early] days it was hard work,'' Winwood told the San Francisco Chronicle. ''The more success you got, the more work you did. It involved spending hour after hour in the back of a small van, traveling from one show to another. I think it was probably less glamorous then [than it is now].'' His latest album, Junction Seven, is arguably the most soul-oriented of the man regarded as one of the pre-eminent soul rockers. The album features collaborations with former Chic brain-trust Nile Rogers, nouveau soul diva Des'Ree and rock-funkster Lenny Kravitz. Gone are the now familiar Winwood organ work, pitched in favor of a leaner, brighter R&B-pop sound. '' I think I really felt that after the Traffic stuff, I wanted to take my own stuff in a slightly different direction,'' he said. -- Tony Green