In the 70's The Kashmere Stage Band, hot on the heels of their Texas Jazz Festival performance, injected an evening of burning funk into the Show Palace. Their recordings from the 70's have been reissued to funk maven's delight under titles Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974, Zero Point, Out of Gas- Still Burning 1974.
From Wikipedia:
Kashmere High School is located in a predominantly black neighborhood known as Kashmere Gardens in Houston, Texas. Music teacher Conrad O. Johnson attended an Otis Redding concert in 1967 and was inspired to translate the style of the concert into a program he could sustain at the high school in order to create opportunities for his student musicians. The Kashmere Stage Band was born.
During its time, KSB won national championships in high school band competitions and gained a reputation as being unbeatable. Johnson served as band director, arranger, and principal composer for the band. KSB recorded eight albums during its life.
The teenagers in the Kashmere Stage Band produced a sound equal to that of the contemporary funk bands the JB's and the Bar-Kays. Although lost for decades, since 2003 the KSB recordings have been released on 7" or 12" LP record or CD, and have become prized by hip-hop artists and dj's for their inimitable sound. A notable sampling occurs on the Handsome Boy Modeling School album So... How's Your Girl?; DJ Shadow’s track “Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)” samples “Kashmere” from the album Kashmere Stage Band Plays Originals. Many of the modern KSB releases are occurring for the first time.
Notable KSB alumni include jazz drummer Bubba Thomas.
See the film THUNDER SOUL!
his name was Henry Edgington
ReplyDelete