Up & coming pop artist Mike Posner debuts, plus jazz & oldies

This week's hot buzz boy Mike Posner, fresh fusion and mainstream jazz offerings plus a bunch of oldies-but-goodies are among this week's new CD offerings.

CD-(LENGTH) HONEYMOON: Recent Duke grad Mike Posner is "on a quest to be pop's next best thing" recently declared the L.A. Times. But, um, maybe he'll settle for your next summer fling, as Posner declares on the Ray La Montagne-sampling "Do U Wanna." Overall, the guy's "31 Minutes to Takeoff" (J Records, B-) set suggests a cynical wisecracker trying to keep it real, with synth-scored, soulfully voiced boy/man sagas so blunt he even name checks the "ho" who "Cheated" on him. (Hope you ran that past legal, dude.) All said, the album is the sonic equivalent of buttered popcorn, guaranteed to last at least half an hour. A special shout out to Philly's plush harmonizing Boyz II Men, pumping up the standout track "Deja Vu."

A RECURRING THEME: Seasoned keyboardist/singer George Duke lives up to the billing of his new album called "Deja Vu" (Heads Up, B) with a flashback of fusion crossover styles. The vocoder and soprano sax (Everette Harp)-inflected "What Goes Around Comes Around" nods to the glories of Weather Report, while the Latin-inflected ballad "Bring Me Joy" is pure Stevie Wonder-fullness.

THE REAL THING: For those who like their jazz closer to its improvisational roots but ever easy on the ears, we've got three finds to lay on ya.

Seasoned mallet man Mike Mainieri keeps it mellow and ripe on the double disc "Crescent" (NYC Records, B+), working over perennials like "Naima" and "Body and Soul" on his resonant vibraphone with alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano and bassist Dieter Ilg.

The impressionistic chamber jazz of pianist Gwilym Simcock proves equally sublime on "Blues Vignette" (Basho Records, A-), be it his solo variations on a Grieg Piano Concerto, tribute to "Jaco and Joe" or pensive trio treatments of "Cry Me a River" and "Nice Work If You Can Get It." Truly chillin'.

Hilary Kole abides by a less-is-more logic with her buttoned-down vocal duets on "You Are There" (Justin Time, B), letting an all-star parade of keyboard collaborators supply the jazzy ruffles and flourishes. The just departed Hank Jones does his part on "But Beautiful," Kenny Barron is up to "Lush Life" and Dave Brubeck evokes "These Foolish Things."

YET MORE DEJA VU: The new/old Squeeze session "Spot the Difference" (Anchor and Hope Music, B) finds British pop rockers Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook freshly replaying their hits - from "Another Nail in My Heart" to "Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)" and "Tempted" - with such accuracy it's hard to, um, spot the difference from the originals.

In his most expansive-ever homage to New Orleans culture "Tribal" (421 Records, B+), Dr. John covers all his stylistic basses, from voodoo Creole to funky, second-line jazz.

Listening to Roy Orbison's oh-so-lilting vocals on "The Last Concert" (Eagle Records, B), you'd never guess the man was less than a week away from keeling over with a heart attack. I could have done without the fake crowd sounds at the outset, but hey, it's literally your last chance (recorded 12/04/88) to hear Orbison work his magic on "Only the Lonely," "In Dreams," "Blue Bayou" and "Oh, Pretty Woman."