High School Band Adds Pep to Jordan TV Movie

The Granada Hills High School marching band will strut its stuff in a TV biopic about basketball great Michael Jordan set to air Sunday on the Fox Family Channel.

The Highlanders play the part of the pep band at a high school basketball game, said band director Al Nelson.

The television appearance is not the band’s first, Nelson said. The young musicians also appeared on the American Teacher Awards broadcast for the Disney Channel and provided music for a football game scene in the comedy film “The Water Boy.”

“We get a lot of calls because we are ready to go at any time,” Nelson said. “A lot of marching bands don’t perform after football season is over. We play all year long.”

Nelson said the Highlanders got the job through former drum major Dena Zelig, who worked as a production assistant on the made-for-TV film. The scene was filmed in September at Reseda High School, which has the same colors--blue and white--as Jordan’s high school.

“As always, we were told to get there on time,” he said. “We waited around for a long time and then there was a flurry of activity.”

The scene took about 20 minutes of the six hours they were on the set, he said.

The Highlanders provided “background and atmosphere” during a scene in which the future NBA star and corporate pitchman was being teased by basketball players for his lowly position as the team’s towel boy.

“It’s an important point in the movie that shows why as a professional basketball player [Jordan] didn’t lord his talents over other players,” Nelson said. “He knew what it was like to be the underdog.”

For their efforts, Nelson said, band members received a donation from the production company as well as the chance to be part of a world premiere broadcast.

The students also got the real-life musician’s experience of being prepared to perform at a moment’s notice.

“It was just like getting a call for a gig and they tell you what they want you to play and when to play it,” Nelson said. “They got a real education about what the business is all about.”