He is a world-class soloist and artist with heart and soul: Nils Landgren.
Jazz and church music shaped his childhood. As cornetist, Nils Landgren's father brought US jazz into the house. The traditional Swedish chorales and songs came from his grandfather, who was a preacher. Nils Landgren was born in 1956. He began playing drums at the age of six. At 13 he layed his hands and lips on the trombone and was hooked for life.
Between 1972 and 1978 Nils studied classical trombone at the music college in Karlstad with David Maytan and at the university in Arvika with Ingemar Roos. During this time he also met the legendary Swedish Folk-Jazz pioneer Bengt-Arne Wallin and the fantastic tromboneplayer and proffessor of the Graz Conservatory in Austria, Eje Thelin. These two men completely changed the way for Nils to go; from a strict classical player to an improviser with his own idea of what to play and why. After his graduation Nils moved to Stockholm to work as a professional tromboneplayer. First the life of a struggling jazz musician, making no money but gaining loads of experience. Then the call that totally changed his life: an offer to go on tour with Sweden's most successful pop star of that time Björn Skifs who at that time was at #1 in the US pop charts with "Hooked on a feeling". The money was ok, the vibes were cool and the band was simply great! Ever since that time Nils Landgren has been involved in a variety of music styles and projects. These include jazz, rock, soul, hip hop, big band’s, studio sessions, and by his own reckoning, at least 500 albums. Mostly, for natural reasons with Swedish artists but also with such internationals stars as ABBA, The Crusaders, Eddie Harris, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and Herbie Hancock. Nils even plays on the first Wyclef Jean solo album, titled "Carnival".
In 1981 Thad Jones invited the Swede into his new Bigband project "Ball of Fire", to take the lead-trombone chair. The band was built up around such great musicians as Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Tim Hagans, Bobby Burgess, Roger Kellaway, Sahib Shihab, Dusko Goykovich, and Benny. "A fantastic band, sad that it did not work out in the end", Nils says about that expreience. Two years later Nils debut album "Planet Rock" was released, followed by "Streetfighter" in 1984, "You are my Nr 1" in 1985, "Miles from Duke" with Bengt-Arne Wallin in 1987, "Chapter Two 1", in 1987, "Chapter Two 2" and "Follow your heart" in 1989. Between 1985 and 1987 Nils also performed as actor, singer, trombonist, and dancer in over 360 performances of the Swedish "play of the year", SKAEL, as well as appearing in several TV-films as an actor.
1992 saw the first performances and recording of the Nils Landgren Unit; the recording was called "Red Horn", and was mixed by the legendary sound engineer Bruce Swedien. (re-release 2001 as "The First Unit", ACT 9292-2). That same summer the band performed at the "Playboy Jazzfestival" in Los Angeles, hosted by the great Bill Cosby. The final breakthrough outside of Scandinavia came first in 1994: it was at the Jazz Baltica Festival in Germany that the "Unit" became the "Funk Unit". The album "Live in Stockholm" (ACT 9223-2) with guest star Maceo Parker was released that year and was the foundation for the collaboration with Siegfried Loch and his young ACT label.
Maybe This Christmas
Nils Landgren Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Maybe this year love will appear
Deeper than ever before
Maybe forgiveness will ask us to call
Someone we love, someone we've lost
For reasons we can't quite recall
Maybe this Christmas
Maybe there'll be an open door
Maybe the stars that shone before
Will shine once more
Maybe there'll be an open door
Maybe the stars that shone before
Will shine once more
Maybe this Christmas will find us at last
In heavenlike peace, pray for, at least
For the love we've been shown in the past
Maybe this Christmas
Maybe this Christmas
The lyrics of Nils Landgren's song "Maybe This Christmas" convey a message of hope and optimism for the holiday season. The opening lines "Maybe this Christmas will mean something more" suggest that despite the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, there can be deeper meaning and purpose found in the celebration. This idea is further explored in the line "Maybe this year love will appear deeper than ever before," indicating that Christmas offers an opportunity for people to connect and express love in a profound way.
The song goes on to suggest that forgiveness may also play a role in this deeper meaning of Christmas. The lines "Maybe forgiveness will ask us to call someone we love, someone we've lost for reasons we can't quite recall" convey the idea that the holiday season can be a time for healing past wounds and reconnecting with loved ones. The repetition of the line "Maybe this Christmas" throughout the song reinforces the idea that anything can happen during this magical time of year.
Overall, the song reminds us to find hope, forgiveness, and love during the holiday season and to cherish the memories and relationships that have made Christmas special in the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe this Christmas will mean something more
Perhaps this holiday season will hold greater significance for us
Maybe this year love will appear
Maybe this year we'll find and experience love in a way we haven't before
Deeper than ever before
On a much more profound, intimate level
Maybe forgiveness will ask us to call
Perhaps forgiving someone will require that we make a phone call
Someone we love, someone we've lost
To someone important to us who is no longer present
For reasons we can't quite recall
Without being exactly sure why we need to ask for forgiveness
Maybe there'll be an open door
It's possible that we'll encounter new opportunities and possibilities
Maybe the stars that shone before
Perhaps the things that once dazzled us will do so again
Will shine once more
Will regain their luster and splendor
Maybe this Christmas will find us at last
Maybe we'll finally experience during this Christmas season
In heavenlike peace, pray for, at least
A sense of peace and calm like that of heaven, which we can only hope for and pray to attain
For the love we've been shown in the past
Because of the love and compassion we've received from others in previous years
Maybe this Christmas
All these things and more may come to pass this Christmas
Contributed by Callie W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Adam Cederblad
Thanks so much for uploading this!! It sounds much better than the original!!
jim Assalone
Right, nothing is better than the version the writer himself did. (Ron Sexsmith) from the heart and not overly polished like this version. He is trying to hard.
Holymakinaw
No, it does not.
Brackwedis
Das geht direkt ins Herz...That goes directly into the heart
Junus
best sax solo ever
Mitchell Kezin
One the finest NEW original Yuletide Songs of the past 3+ decadess IMHO (I'm a wee bit biased since I'm Canadian and so is Ron Sexsmith ; )
luvaquad
Maybe this christmas. .
Could we cure spinal cord injury.. include us quadraplegic's too.. please. Merry Christmas
Adam Cederblad
:-)
newt0n
You are welcome.