January 31–February 7, 2002

music picks|funk

The Brothers Johnson

Late to the ’70s funk game? Know this: There’s more than the dense psychedelia of Parliament-Funkadelic, the orchestrated wah of Isaac Hayes and the holy roll of Curtis Mayfield. There is the cheery romanticism of the Brothers Johnson — those flare-panted fathers of soul with the thumb-flying bass lines and jazzy curves who rolled all the above into syrupy stew. First heard on A&M Records connected to organist Billy Preston’s "Music is My Life," harmony-singing brothers George (guitar) and Louis (bass) later worked on Quincy Jones’ epic Mellow Madness. Q, in turn, produced their brassy classics like the tipsy "Strawberry Letter 23," the naughty "Get The Funk Out Ma Face" and the heavenly hosanna of "Runnin’ for Your Lovin’" — modern soul classics that set the stage for Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall. Without the Brothers J, there’d be less fun in the funk.

—A.D. Amorosi

Sat., Feb. 2, 7 p.m., $20-$22, The Trocadero, 10th and Arch sts., 215-922-LIVE, www.thetroc.com.