Nils Landgren

Jazz, funk, and R&B trombonist Nils Landgren – born on February 15, 1956, in Degerfors, Sweden - is a prolific session player and has played on more than 500 recordings. His talents have been in demand for years and his distinctively funky trombone playing has been featured on albums recorded by major artists such as ABBA, The Crusaders, Wyclef Jean, and Herbie Hancock. Nils Landgren first studied classical trombone at Karlstad Music College in his native Sweden before moving on to higher studies at Arvika University. There, he met two people who became pivotal in his future development: jazz trombonist Eje Thelin and Swedish folk-jazz pioneer Bengt-Arne Wallin. Both men were in the vanguard of the growing Swedish jazz movement and their influence persuaded Nils Landgren to move from the classical format and begin to experiment with improvisation. After college, Nils Landgren turned professional and joined US jazz trumpeter Thad Jones and played in Jones' big band. In 1983, he began his solo career with the release of his album Planet Rock. After several more albums – including Streetfighter (1984), You’re My Number One (1985), and Ballads (1993) – he formed the Nils Landgren Funk Unit and released a dozen albums including Live in Stockholm (1995), 5000 Miles (1999), Funky ABBA (2004), and Funk Is My Religion (2021). Alongside his recordings with Funk Unit, Nils Landgren continued to release solo albums including Eternal Beauty (2014), Some Other Time – A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein (2016) and 3 Generations (2022). In addition to his trombone playing, Nils Landgren is also an accomplished singer, actor, and dancer and has appeared in over 350 performances of the famous Swedish play SKAL as well as numerous TV films. Since 2008, he has released a series of annual holiday releases under the title Christmas with My Friends. In 2024, The Nils Landgren Funk Unit celebrated their 30th anniversary by releasing the album Raw.