SUMMER CHILLS

Question from Luca:

I’m amazed from Kool & the Gang’s “Summer Madness.” I really want to do a playlist with all the mood of this song. Chill out jazz, slow and relaxing, something meditative. Could you tell me some song like that, without voices, just instrumental?

Answer: Funny, I was just thinking the other day about how good Idris Muhammed’s “Loran Dance” is and that would very much fall into the groove you seem to be talking about:

I’d suggest the entire CTI/Kudu catalog could be cherry-picked to find other songs in this vein though I always thought of “Summer Madness” as rather unique rather than a template, even in the fusion jazz era.

If you want something just slightly more obscure, I’ve always been partial to this, by the Lyman Woordard Organization:

(Sadly, Detroit’s Belle Isle Park has been in the news for the wrong reasons recently).

Also, I know you said “without voices,” but I’m going to push back and say that any summer madness mix that leaves out Shuggie Otis’s “Island Letter” is missing out:


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