Landgren Nils

1992 släppte Nils Landgren Funk Unit sitt första album Unit. Nu, 25 år senare, släpper de sitt elfte album - Unbreakable - och de är tajtare än någonsin.<br/><br/>Efter 25 år tillsammans, 10 album i ryggen och otaliga turnéer över hela världen är det tydligt att Funk Unit har en passion för att göra avtryck och sprida glädje. Unbreakable är ett album sprunget ur bandmedlemmarnas genuina kärlek till musiken och till varandra.<br/><br/>Musiken på Unbreakable är en del funk, en del jazz och rakt av en oemotståndlig partyplatta.<br/><br/>Denna gång gästas Funk Unit av musiklegendarerna Ray Parker Jr. (soloartist, låtskrivare, producent och musiker åt bla Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Barry White), Randy Brecker (trumpetare som bland annat spelat med Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius) och Tim Hagans (trumpetare och grammisnominerad musiker som bla spelat med Dexter Gordon, Yellowjackets och Norrbotten Big Band).<br/><br/>Medlemmarna i Funk Unit är var och en för sig tongivande musiker med en mängd sidoprojekt vid sidan om och med världen som arbetsplats. Detta är troligtvis den bidragande orsaken till att bandet låter mer sammansvetsat idag än någonsin förr. Dynamiken och det oemotståndliga groovet på Unbreakable är svår att stå emot.<br/><br/>"Vår musik är en egen symbios av influenser och egna infall blandat med en god portion improvisation på ett sätt som jag tänker mig är unik. Funk Unit har alltid arbetat som ett kollektiv; när vi skriver, när vi reser och när vi står på scen. Jag må vara grundaren och ansiktet utåt, men alla medlemmar i bandet har en egen stämma, en egen röst. När vi spelar in våra album i studio, spelar vi ALLTID tillsammans, live, i studion. Det du hör är rakt av det vi spelade, när vi spelade. Vi är Unbreakable - vi är Funk Unit." säger Nils Landgren. <br/><br/>Unbreakable opens with the title song, Nils Landgren's own composition. It begins with an unmistakeable guitar intro by Detroit funk legend Ray Parker Jr. (for the occasion an "Honorary Funk Unit member") a funky riff that sets the pace for what's to follow; a nonstop funk blowout.<br/><br/>Mr Redhorn, Nils Landgren would never, ever mess with a good recipe.Unbreakable opens with the title song, Nils Landgren's own composition. It begins with an unmistakeable guitar intro by Detroit funk legend Ray Parker Jr. (for the occasion an "Honorary Funk Unit member") a funky riff that sets the pace for what's to follow; a nonstop funk blowout. The Funk Unit rhythm section is tighter than ever before and lays down a groove like no other band. The horn arrangements (by band member Jonas Wall) are exquisitely precise and the process of arranging, mixing and performing they have developed over the years is unique and totally their own. If you add to that an outstanding trombone player/lead vocalist you have one of the most dynamic groups of musicians ever to hit the stage in Europe. Some funk, some jazz and some straight-out par...<br/><br/>line up<br/>Nils Landgren Funk Unit:<br/>Nils Landgren / trombone & vocals<br/>Magnum Coltrane Price / bass & vocals<br/>Andy Pfeiler / guitar & vocals<br/>Jonas Wall / saxes<br/>Petter Bergander / keyboards<br/>Robert Ikiz / drums<br/><br/>Honorary Funk Unit Member - Ray Parker Jr :<br/>Guitar on Unbreakable,<br/>Rockin' After Midnight (& vocals),<br/>Just A Kiss Away, Stars In Your Eyes<br/>& Bow Down<br/><br/>Randy Brecker / trumpet on 06<br/>Tim Hagans / trumpet on 09

Digipack.<br/><br/>Line Up: <br/>Nils Landgren / trombone & vocals<br/>Michael Wollny / piano<br/>Lars Danielsson / bass<br/>Rasmus Kihlberg / drums<br/><br/>Special Guests:<br/>Joe Sample / piano<br/>João Bosco / guitar & vocals<br/>Richard Galliano / accordion<br/>Steve Gadd / drums<br/>Caecilie Norby / vocals<br/>NDR Bigband & Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra<br/><br/>Produced by Nils Landgren & Siggi Loch

Digipack.<br/><br/>Two hours musical enjoyment with Mr. Redhorn and Maceo Parker, Brecker Brothers, Joe Sample, Roy Hargrove, Fred Wesley, Ray Parker Jr., Bernard Purdie, Till Brönner, Rigmor Gustafsson, Ida Sand, Esbjörn Svensson, Lars Danielsson, Per Ruskträsk Johansson, Magnum Coltrane Price, Magnus Lindgren, Wolfgang Haffner, Michael Wollny, NDR Bigband amongst others.

Not only the trombonist Nils Landgren has built up an enormous fan base over the decades - with his Funk Unit, with big bands and alongside the greats of jazz music - so has the vocalist Nils Landgren. His clear, throaty and yet mellow voice is very distinctive, and perfect for ballads. Apart from on his Christmas anthology "Christmas With My friends," it could also be admired on "The Moon, The Stars And You" that came out two years ago. The moonstruck nature of jazz was the theme on that record, and both the choice of songs and the list of guests, from Joe Sample and Steve Gadd to Joao Bosco and Richard Galliano, were colourful. What is more, Landgren put together a rhythm section here that understood each other intuitively. Alongside his companion of many years Lars Danielsson on the bass and cello, and the Viktoria Tolstoy drummer Rasmus Kihlberg, he also added Michael Wollny as a consummate sensitive piano accompanist to the mix.<br/><br/>"Never change a winning team" they say, and so it was that for his new vocal and ballad project, Landgren once again reverted to this select band of brothers - with the further addition of guitarist Johan Norberg, with whom Landgren has performed on and off for decades. "It is my dream team, and one that I hope will play together for a long time," says Landgren of this group. It is also ideal for the approach that Landgren pursued on "Eternal Beauty": "I wanted to make a really homogenous record - just us playing the simple and beautiful melodies simply and beautifully." The album title indicates the direction that the songs chosen by Landgren, Wollny, Norberg and producer Siggi Loch took: "The music and lyrics had to fit us, and they had to be songs that are eternal for me, personally."<br/><br/>It is a criterion that most of the songs on "Eternal Beauty" will certainly also meet for many listeners, from George Harrison's "Isn't It A Pity" to Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings" on through to "We don't Need Another Hero", made popular by Tina Turner. And not just the hits adapted from pop, no, also intelligent jazz ballads the likes of "One More Angel" from the jazz bassist John Patitucci and "Another Kind Of Blue" by the New York-based German guitarist Torsten de Winkel. Michael Wollny wrote the title track together with Eva Svensson, Esbjörn Svensson's widow.<br/><br/>So it is no coincidence that "Eternal Beauty" is also an homage to Esbjörn, without that being said explicitly anywhere on the record," says Landgren. "For me, Esbjörn is one of the greatest musicians of our age. And although he isn't around anymore, we still kind of communicate. I think of him a lot, and fortunately I'm really close to Eva and the kids. Our families are very close. That's why I wanted to record some numbers from him to. Johan's track "One Frozen Moment" also alludes to the moment when we heard of his passing."<br/><br/>It only makes sense that the album ends with Svensson's "Love Is Real," the song that will without the shadow of a doubt be one of the first and most important when and if a Great European Songbook is ever compiled. But one thing is important to Landgren: "Even if our thoughts went out to Esbjörn, Eternal Beauty is anything but a gloomy album. He wouldn't want that either. All the lyrics revolve around love and relationships, but they aren't one-dimensional. Like James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Alone Tonight," which I played once in Salzau with Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny and Esbjörn. I love that song. And the age-old folk number Green Fields. You can even interpret that as an environmental song if you are that way inclined."<br/><br/>So, much is left up to this talented team that Landgren trusts without reservation: "We did have an idea of how we could play each of the songs, but we didn't prescribe much and we arranged them very sparingly, because with these guys the musical concept arises when we meet. When we start to play, the magic begins."

LINE UP:<br/>Nils Landgren / trombone & vocals<br/>Janis Siegel / vocals<br/>Jan Lundgren / piano<br/>Dieter Ilg / bass<br/>Wolfgang Haffner / drums<br/><br/>Right in time for Nils Landgren's 60th birthday celebration the most elaborate project of his unparalleled carrer will be published. This album includes the music of musiclas like "West Side Story and a phenomenal line-up, among others his All-Star band, Bochumer Symphoniker and singer Janis Siegel of the legendary "The Manhatten Transfer". Together with conductor and arranger Vince Mendoza they build a memorial for a friend of Jazz and great composer of the 20th century, Leonard Bernstein.

En svensk jultradition som börjar bli lika viktig som risgrynsgröten är att Nils Landgren och hans vänner önskar God Jul i jazztappning. Christmas with My Friends, Vol. 8 är fylld till brädden av jazzigt glittrande klappar, med Nisse och vänner som Sharon Dyall, Ida Sand, Jessica Pilnäs och Jeanette Köhn.

Den svensktyska supergruppen med Nils Landgren, Michael Wollny, Lars Danielsson och Wolfgang Haffner släpper uppföljaren "4 Wheel Drive II", där kvartetten fortsätter att servera sin sköna mix av jazz- och poplåtar.