James Taylor [ tickets ] will launch a brief series of US dates in early July before embarking on a month-long European tour. The tour will feature a full band and focus on material spanning Taylor's three-decade career. Taylor's most recent Columbia Records release is 1998's Live at the Beacon Theatre.

Taylor has also contributed a track to ''Mom III,'' the third installment of all-star compilation albums to benefit the Surfrider Foundation, an environmentalist group working to protect beach and ocean areas. The album, due August 10th, will also feature performances by Pearl Jam (The Whale Song), Beck (Electric Music and the Summer People) and Paul McCartney (Wild Life) among others.

Taylor's contribution is Gaia, a track from his latest studio effort, ''Hourglass.''

In an AOL chat late last year, Taylor said he hoped to have a new studio album ready for the fall of 1999. No official word has surfaced as to the status of that effort, though tentative tour plans have Taylor returning to the US for another tour run in the fall, backed by a symphony orchestra.