As the new documentary “Thunder Soul" makes clear, Johnson and his group of Houston, Texas, high school students likely deserve recognition alongside those pantheon players.
“Thunder Soul," directed by Mark Landsman, tells the story of the student band from Kashmere High School. Under the leadership of Johnson, known to his students as “Prof," the band brought a powerful rhythm and soulful freshness to jazz band competitions more often marked by a certain staidness. A joyous homage to Johnson, “Thunder Soul" is playing as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 27. The screening will be followed by a live performance from many of the musicians featured in the film.
Landsman was listening to NPR in 2006 when he first heard about Johnson and the Kashmere Stage Band. Knocked out by the music he heard, and incredulous that it was played by high school kids some 30 years previous, he looked up every Conrad Johnson he could in the Houston area. He first reached Prof Johnson's son, who gave him the number for the retired musical director. It took Landsman about a week to work up the courage to call, and Johnson chastised him for the delay.
“He said, 'What's your problem, man. I've been waiting for your call,'" remembered Landsman. A journey had begun.
In many ways, “Thunder Soul" is actually two movies. One features the outsized afros and vintage bellbottoms of the early '70s band, chronicling in particular its spirited, groundbreaking 1972 run for a national title. The other is the more heartfelt story of the buildup to the February 2008 reunion show, as 30-odd former members of the band got back together to play for Prof Johnson, then in his 90s, one more time.
“To me, it's totally integrated," Landsman said of the film's twin strands. “In order to understand the story in the present day it's essential to understand who they were and what they went through, the obstacles they faced. And just how iconoclastic Prof was in that time what he did in the time period was unprecedented."
Whereas many competitors were playing such traditional numbers as “Summertime," “Satin Doll" or “Rhapsody in Blue," the Kashmere Stage Band was playing a mix of originals and Johnson's arrangements of contemporary tunes, with titles such as “Headwiggle," “Zero Point" and “Thunder Soul," complete with choreographed stage moves.
“That's exactly what made the Kashmere Stage Band special," said Eothen “Egon" Alapatt, owner of the Now Again music label that put out a compilation in 2006 of Kashmere Stage Band recordings culled from the eight albums and three 45s recorded and released by Johnson.
Noting that he has likely heard literally thousands of stage band recordings, Alapatt continued, “Nine times out of 10 if you get a high school stage record from the late '60s, early '70s, generally these guys were playing bad, schmaltzy versions of jazz standards done from charts for stage bands by music publishing houses which in the hands of lesser band directors were just fodder for average music recorded by average kids across the country. And every once in a while you find a guy with a vision."
