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.
Sos
Nils Landgren Lyrics
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I try to reach for you. but you have closed my mind
Whatever happened to our love? I wish I understood
It used to be so nice. It used to be so good
So when you're near me, darling, can't you hear me S.O.S.?
The love you gave me. nothing else can save me, S.O.S.
When you're gone, how can I even try to go on?
You seem so far away though you are standing near
You made me feel alive but something died I fear
I really tried to make it out. I wish I understood
What happened to our love? It used to be so good
So when you're near me, darling, can't you hear me S.O.S.?
The love you gave me. nothing else can save me, S.O.S.
When you're gone, how can I even try to go on?
When you're gone though I try how can I carry on?
When you're gone, how can I even try to go on?
When you're gone though I try how can I carry on?
The lyrics to Nils Landgren's song S.O.S. portray the feelings of an individual who is reminiscing about a past relationship that has since fallen apart. The person is questioning what went wrong and expressing a deep sense of loss and confusion. They are reaching out to their former partner for understanding and attempting to communicate through their song.
The lyrics begin by expressing the difficulty in finding happiness and the effort made to connect with the ex-partner despite their closed-off attitude. The individual reminisces about their lost love, wondering what happened to make it fall apart. They recall the times when the love used to be nice and beautiful but now seems like a distant memory. The chorus repeats the plea for the ex-partner to hear them and their love expressed as S.O.S, which is a call for help.
The next verses continue to express the emotional turmoil, the feeling of being alive when they were together coupled with the realization that something has died since they parted ways. They tried to understand and make things right, but it seems impossible. The chorus repeats throughout the song, communicating a sense of desperation and the need for the ex-partner's attention and love to save them from their sorrow and confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
Where are those happy days they seem to hard to find?
The singer is reminiscing about the past and questioning why things seem harder to come by now.
I try to reach for you. but you have closed my mind
The singer has attempted to reconnect with their partner, but it seems that the partner is unwilling to communicate or reconnect.
Whatever happened to our love? I wish I understood
The singer is confused and seeking answers as to why the love they once shared with their partner has deteriorated.
It used to be so nice. It used to be so good
Once upon a time, the relationship between the artist and their partner was happy and fulfilled.
So when you're near me, darling, can't you hear me S.O.S.?
The artist is pleading for their partner to pay attention to their pleas for help and see the distress the artist is experiencing.
The love you gave me. nothing else can save me, S.O.S.
The singer recognizes that their partner's love is the only thing that can bring them out of the emotional struggle they are in.
When you're gone, how can I even try to go on?
The singer is essentially saying that without their partner, moving forward seems impossible.
When you're gone though I try how can I carry on?
Despite the artist's efforts, they feel unable to find any semblance of normalcy or happiness without their partner.
You seem so far away though you are standing near
Even when the partner is physically present, they seem emotionally distant and unapproachable to the artist.
You made me feel alive but something died I fear
The partner had a positive impact on the artist's life, however, that now feels like a distant memory as something within the relationship has died.
I really tried to make it out. I wish I understood
The singer has attempted to mend the relationship and make things work but is still unsure why these efforts have not been successful.
What happened to our love? It used to be so good
The artist once again expresses their confusion and sadness over the state of their relationship and reminisces on the happier times they shared with their partner.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRISTOPHER LE FRIANT, DANIEL DALMADY, ZSOLT MILICHOVSKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind