Nils Landgren Funk Unit

In Sweden Nils Landgren has already been an acclaimed musician since the 80ies. For his international breakthrough still some time had to pass on through. But in the beginning of the 90ies the jazz scene outside of Sweden took notice of "Mr. Red Horn". The man with the red trombone stubbornly stuck to his idea to play funk, a domain of Afro-American musicians. "A funk band from Sweden? 'Forget it!', was the reaction. But then Rainer Haarmann of JazzBaltica Festival discovered us. It was the breakthrough. Even though you come from Sweden, you can play funk", says Nils Landgren. It has been indeed 25 years now since these ground breaking steps with his Funk Unit – his career being second to none in Europe as trombonist, singer, producer, mentor, big band leader and festival director.

Eight albums altogether the trombonist and Funk Unit have released, the current one entitled "Unbreakable". There is a booming slow groove on Allen Toussaints "Just A Kiss Away", a relaxed Herbie Hancock "Stars In Your Eyes" and Marvin Gaye's "Rockin’ After Midnight" also got a new interpretation by Landgren. As he states perfectly about his instrument: "With a trombone you can express everything. It can sound mellow and ballad-like, but also loudly tooting like an elephant."