h, the times they are a changin'. Listen to musician Uriel Jones reminisce about his days behind the drum kit in the 1960s: "It used to be we had to take a smoke break or a liquor break, but now we take a medication break."   Who's Uriel Jones you ask? Good question. But then that's the whole point behind the film Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Jones was but one of a cadre of talented musicians who made up a band called the Funk Brothers. Jazz musicians by night, during the day the Brothers would all sashay into Detroit's famed Motown studio that was to became known as "Hitsville, U.S.A."   And what hits they backed. Together the Funk Brothers played on more number one records than the Beatles, the Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley combined. Backing such talent as Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, the Funk Brothers laid down the beat for such hits as "Stop In The Name Of Love," "Where Did Our Love Go," "War," "What's Going On," "Tears of a Clown," "Papa Was A Rolling Stone," "My Guy" and "Ball Of Confusion".   The film began with Allan Slutsky's award-winning 1989 book titled, Standing In The Shadows of Motown: The Life And Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson.   "It started as just another book," says Slutsky. "Like

actors Richard "Pistol" Allan Jack Ashford Bob Babbitt Johnny Griffith Joe Hunter Uriel Jones Joe Messina Eddie Willis James Jamerson Benny "Papa Zita" Benjamin Eddie "Bongo" Brown Earl Van Dyke Robert White director Paul Justman locations Detroit outtake "Buzz" was the word on this film at the Toronto International Film Festival as viewers agreed that this movie is "What's Going On!"

everybody else, I had never really thought about the musicians of Motown. I was listening to the singers, be it Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross or Stevie Wonder - you take it as a whole because it's so familiar. But I went to visit Jamerson's widow in Detroit and she took me around to visit some of the other guys. Their stories were so riveting. From there, the project just kept building."   Standing in the Shadows of Motown combines interviews, archival footage, re-enactments and reminiscences to re-create the era when the Funk Brothers, at first unbeknownst to them, were creating history.   "We made money recording, but we had our fun in the clubs," says Uriel Jones about his days as a Funk Brother. "At that time we were all jazz musicians. When we listened to the radio we listened to the jazz stations. We didn't even know the impact these Motown songs were having. Suddenly it hit us that the radio was full of our tunes!"   The film features new performances by the surviving members of the Funk Brothers playing the old tunes with vocal performances by such contemporary stars as Joan Osborne, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Chaka Khan and Bootsy Collins. But perhaps the most poignant moment in the movie occurs when the band members reunite in the Motown recording studio known as "The Snakepit" because of the fierce competition between the writers, arrangers and artists vying to record there. "I can't even explain it," says Jones. "Things we had forgotten about - as soon as we hit that studio it all came back. It was a fantastic feeling."   Although some members of the band have now passed on, many of the Funk Brothers are still out there performing. And if you're in Detroit, you might want to check out the local club scene where you can still find Uriel Jones laying down that funky backbeat as he's done so well for so many years. - Charles Tatum