When the camera is turned on, on the other side of the zoom appears Robert Bell, bassist, songwriter and leader of Kool & the Gang. But he is not alone. Behind him, on the left, there is an allegorical acoustic guitar 50 years after the creation of the band. The musician, whose nickname, “Kool,” inspired the name of this dance machine, is the only founding member that is still active. The rest of the members who built this rhythm institution in Jersey City – among whom his brother, saxophonist Ronald Bell, stood out – have already died. They all departed as they continued touring and recording. In fact, the platinum records hanging above the viola attest to his prolificacy. However, there is more information in that corner. At the right hand of the artist 73 yearsthere are three bottles of its own champagne brand, Le Kool Champagne, which in 2021 added pink champagne to its collection.
“Right now I am in the city of Orlando, although I can’t wait to return to Buenos Aires,” confesses the American musician, who in his philanthropic role runs the Kool Kids Foundation (helps children with precarious economies to have musical training ). “You are a wonderful audience.” His most recent landing happened in 2022, in the same place that will receive them this time: the stadium Luna Park. It is true that the adjective “party” is so worn out and vilified (like others such as “genius”) that it is attributed to even the simplest things. But the show that Kool & the Gang gave that April night reclaimed the content of the word, also supported by an arsenal of anthems that have no expiration date. Or at least that’s what these people took for granted. cultists of funk, jazz, soul, R&B and disco music.
Although Bell anticipates that the spectacle they will bring this Thursday 9th at 9pm will have some variations with respect to what they did two years ago (one of them will be the introduction of their new drummer, after the death in November 2023 of also founding member George “Funky” Brown), this time the band He will share the program with his compatriots from Village People and with the historic Argentine DJ Alejandro Pont Lezica. Although the event that brings them together appeals to the nostalgia of a time that had both groups as generational references, at the end of the ’70s, the bassist recognizes that this is something that usually happens to him when his shows are promoted. And it contrasts with the age range of those who follow them today. “I can understand that our songs have an effect on many people’s memories, but 20-year-olds also come to see us,” he says.
While enjoying its glorious past, Kool & the Gang is concerned with its validity. The repertoire of People Just Wanna Have Fun, released in July 2023 and becoming his 26th studio album. From what the musician says, it seems that it will be the last of his career. “I think we won’t release any more new songs. I liked the album. But, no matter how much we continue to create and compose, people are still very attached to songs from the ’70s or ’80s like ‘Jungle Boogie’, ‘Hollywood Swinging’, ‘Ladies Night’, ‘Get Down on It’ and ‘Joanna’. That’s the truth,” he resigns. “If I take anything away from that album, it is that its title summarizes very well what the public wants (in Spanish, the name would be ‘People just want to have fun’). That was also the intention of the band throughout its history. “I’m glad we can still do it.”
-As if their legacy were not enough, they still defend their title of “groove heavyweights.” They evidenced this not only in People Just Wanna Have Fun, but also in their previous album, Perfect Union (2021). How do you ensure that a new song doesn’t compete against your past?
-We had more or less 10 years without releasing a new album when we decided to make Perfect Union. I lost my brother, who was the producer, in 2020. To People Just Wanna Have Fun we called George Brown to handle the production. So they were two ways of understanding the same intention. What we wanted was for the public to identify with these songs, in the same way they did with our hits. Maybe that’s why recording the last album took us six months.
-This return to the country coincides with the celebration of his 60 years. If The Rolling Stones is the oldest active rock band, could the same be said of Kool & the Gang for funk and related genres?
-Don’t know. The truth is that we have been in the music business for 60 years. We started in jazz and in 1969 we recorded our first album as Kool & the Gang. Since then, we went through different periods. We were an instrumental jazz and funk group until the late ’70s. After adding “JT” (refers to his first singer, James Taylor), on the album Ladies Night We took a musical turn that brought us closer to R&B, as well as other audiences. That made us a popular group. A few days ago we entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You can’t imagine how happy he made me.
-Next September it will be 50 years since the appearance of Light of Worlds, an album that includes “Summer Madness”, an ode to psychedelia from an Afro-descendant perspective. He is never missing from his shows.
-The musical madness was growing in the band. We tried to direct all the energy we had elsewhere. That song was a much longer journey, so the challenge was to synthesize that intensity in almost half the time. Although it seems like a psychedelic song, it never strays away from jazz. My brother was like a sound scientist. He liked experiments.
-Regarding what you’re saying, in what context did you make that album?
-We were very young when we started in the music business. We were 14 or 15 years old, and our biggest influence was jazz. As we evolve, we try other musical styles. In that sense, we set our sights on the Motown label (breeding ground and bastion of American Afro-descendant music in the ’60s and ’70s, mainly). Our other reference was James Brown. Since then, we became more fun. But before we get to that point, Light of Worlds we showed that instrumental music could also be commercial and popular.
-“Summer Madness” was included in the film’s soundtrack Rocky.
-That’s how it is. It worked so well, as did the album (it went platinum), that it opened the doors for the song “Open Sesame” to be part of the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever.
-That erudite and celebratory music that distinguishes them contains a powerful social message. After the Afro-descendant community in your country made progress in terms of civil rights, the current generation of artists seems to have become gentrified. What is your opinion of what is happening?
-When Biden ran for president, his campaign theme was “Celebration.” And when he won she used “Celebration” again, which again made it one of the most listened to songs. I still believe that music is a way to improve as a society, but accepting that things have changed is also part of growth. We never give up on it. During Obama’s second campaign, my brother composed the single “Pursuit of Happiness” (it has two versions, one of them in a rap style by Keith Murray). If at that time he was trying to provide a hopeful view of the world, the topic gained more strength after covid. Even though millions of people died, we kept going. Love, understanding and fun will never go out of style.
