Nils Landgren marks his 70th birthday with Love of My Life — an album that reflects not only the scale of his achievement, but also the astonishingly wide range of roles his life in music has embraced. As one of the most successful European jazz musicians of the past few decades, Landgren has long been more than a trombonist or singer: he is a connector, a mentor, a bridge-builder. Recorded with close friends and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the opulent arrangements of Vince Mendoza, the album spans from Landgren’s own tender compositions to reimagined works by Cat Stevens, Leonard Bernstein, Herbie Hancock, and others — yet it remains unmistakably Landgren: open, warm, and full of humanity. “The most important thing in music for me is:…
Tag Archive: Nils Landgren
…Trombonist, singer, and producer Nils Landgren had long dreamed of celebrating a musical Christmas with good friends. In 2006, this dream became reality: Christmas with My Friends was released and quickly became one of the most popular and successful Christmas albums in European jazz — and a beloved tradition.
Since then, the series has appeared every two years, accompanied by regular tours. Now, with Christmas with My Friends IX, the series enters its ninth round.
“Someone once asked me: is there not an end to Christmas songs?” recalls Nils Landgren. His answer is simple: “The answer is simple: no, there is not. As long as we celebrate Christmas, there will be songs celebrating the occasion in…
…On October 18, 2018, Danish conductor and former trombonist Mogens Dahl reached out to Nils Landgren with a bold idea: a new choral composition by Swedish composer Sven-David Sandström, written specifically for mixed choir, trombone, and voice. Sandström, despite his illness, embraced the challenge, crafting Sonnets of Darkness and Love – a work inspired by the poetry of Shakespeare, Federico García Lorca, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Landgren met with Sandström, Dahl, and librettist Jakob Holtze in Stockholm in November 2018, marking the beginning of this extraordinary project. Sandström, though physically weakened, radiated creative energy, and within months, the piece was finished. By May 2019, Sandström…