It’s hot … as in Sahara desert hot, except with humidity that makes it feel like Satan’s armpit. But if it’s going to be Sahara hot, we may as well spend A Night in Tunisia …

This jazz standard was written by Dizzy Gillespie in 1941, and quickly became a well known standard. The exotic, sweltering sound is woven by a funky bassline and a repeating chord progression which uses a jazz “trick” of substituting an expected chord with the tonality a tritone away (in this case, we want to hear A, we get Eb instead – this interval A-Eb is known as a tritone, or the “devil’s interval”). Also, an Eb chord in a D minor piece implies a Phrygian mode, which is a scale we commonly associate with the “exotic” lands of the African Mediterranean or middle east. So, the Eb chord is doing double duty: exoticism AND devilish trick. And we like it.

It might be bloody miserable blazing outside, but at least the humidity is only 95%. It’s the kind of hot where the air feels so thick that going outside feels like walking into a curtain of steam.

If you haven’t seen the movie Lawrence of Arabia, I cannot recommend it enough. The exotic story, the gripping characters, and naturally, the brilliant film score by Maurice Jarre (who also wrote the gorgeous music of Doctor Zhivago.) Everything about that movie makes me feel hot to the core – but you can watch it indoors, in the AC, with a cool drink in your hand.

In this video, there are two very contrasting main themes – the wild, exotic sounds of Arabia, and the sweeping, lyric sound representing the legendary Englishman who became so powerful there. Try to ignore the fact that it isn’t politically correct, and just enjoy the music.