Sharon Jones rocks the room with soul

Sharon Jones told Thursday’s youthful crowd at the Knitting Factory Hollywood that she’s from Augusta, Ga., the same place where James Brown grew up.

But that’s not all the soul singer and her band, the Dap-Kings, had in common with the R&B; legend. During the electrifying 45-minute first of two sets, Jones effortlessly lived up to bandleader and bassist Bosco Mann’s introduction: “The super soul sister with the magnetic je ne sais quoi.”

A veteran session singer, Jones used the name Miss Lafaye when lending her dusky, supple voice to several late-’90s indie singles popular with the East Coast and overseas funk-dance undergrounds.

But on Thursday, she blazed through driving selections from her 2002 debut album, “Dap-Dippin’ With Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.”

The super-tight octet evoked the on-a-dime control and polyrhythmic power of a classic James Brown dance band. The players even looked the part in their old-school jackets and ties.

Jones, who is in her mid-40s, would certainly have appealed to a crowd of her contemporaries. But it was a roomful of young folks she had rocking by her second number, a ringing funk rendition of Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done for Me Lately?” And it wasn’t just familiarity that moved their feet; it was the irresistible pull of such standout originals as “Got a Thing on My Mind” and the dance-step tune “The Dap Dip.”