THUNDER SOUL tells the true story of Conrad O. Johnson and the legendary Kashmere Stage Band. It was afros, pleated pants and platform shoes; James Brown, Sly Stone and Bootsy Collins. It was the ’70s, and an inner-city Houston high school was about to make history. Charismatic band leader, Conrad “Prof” Johnson would turn the school’s mediocre jazz band into a legendary, world-class funk powerhouse. Now, 35 years later, his students prepare to pay tribute to the man who changed their lives, the 92-year-old Prof. Some haven’t played their horns in decades, still they dust off their instruments determined to retake the stage to show Prof and the world that they’ve still got it.
Though it sometimes overplays the sentimentality, "Thunder Soul" gets not just the music but also the sense of possibility for this post-civil-rights generation.
– Sheri Linden,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Oct 2011
fresh:
Arguably, the current generation of funk and soul revivalists owes a debt to musicians who forged their astonishing sound in between Algebra study sessions.
– John DeFore,
Washington Post,
7 Oct 2011
fresh:
All of the agreeable ingredients are there, but director Mark Landsman doesn't coast on the built-in feel-good factor.
– William Goss,
Film.com,
7 Oct 2011
fresh:
There's a purity -- sense of righteousness and reunion and optimism -- that makes Thunder Soul galvanizing. Also, the music is smoking hot, which is pretty amazing, considering it comes from a high school band. And a bunch of oldsters.