Photo gallery: DIFF Centerpiece Gala at Reel FX (April 10)

by Alexandra Olivia

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Students of the legendary band leader Conrad "Prof" Johnson paid tribute to him during a celebration of the movie, Thunder Soul.

DALLAS — The focus of the gala at Reel FX was the band, The Kashmere Stage Band. Thirty-five years ago, they were members of the high school band together. They re-united for the film, Thunder Soul, which tells the true story of Conrad O Johnson and the legendary Kashmere Stage Band.

It was afros and pleated shirts; James Brown 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 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, and still they dust off their instruments -- determined to retake the stage to show Prof and the world that they’ve still got it.