With his smoking, hard-hitting "Funk Unit", the man with the Red Horn has b… Read Full Bio ↴With his smoking, hard-hitting "Funk Unit", the man with the Red Horn has been responsible for a bunch of successful CDs over the past years. His concerts from Stockholm to Beijing have been met with ecstatic acclamation. In duo with pianist Esbjörn Svensson, he has elevated Swedish folk music to the level of subdued works of art. As the artistic director of the 2001 Berlin Jazz Festival, designed a state of the art presentation of Scandinavian trends and moods. In May 2002 Nils was honored with the "Tore Ehrling prize" by the Swedish Society Of Popular Composers for "His outstanding contribution to spread swedish jazz music around the globe".
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.

You've Got A Friend
Nils Landgren Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When you're down and troubled
And you need some love and care
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

You just call out my name

And you know wherever I am
I'll come running, to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend

If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep you head together

And call my name out loud
Soon you'll hear me knocking at you door

Overall Meaning

These lyrics are from the song "You've Got A Friend" by Nils Landgren. The song talks about being a dependable friend to someone who is going through a tough time. It starts by acknowledging that sometimes in life, things don't go as planned and we find ourselves feeling down and troubled. In such situations, we all need some love and care. However, even when we feel like nothing is going right, we can still find solace by closing our eyes and thinking of that special someone who makes everything better by simply being there for us. The lyrics go on to assure the listener that they have a friend in the singer and that they should always feel free to call out their name whenever they need them, no matter the time of year. Whether it's winter, spring, summer, or fall, they can always count on their friend to be there, ready to brighten even their darkest night.

In addition, the song also acknowledges that sometimes things in life can get stormy, and we might feel like the sky above us is dark and full of clouds. However, this doesn't need to be the end of things. All we need to do is keep our head together and call out to our friend. By doing this, we open up the possibility of hearing a knock on our door, and finding our friend there to help us navigate through the storm.

Overall, "You've Got A Friend" is a song about the beauty of friendship and the comfort that can be found in knowing that someone always has our back. It's a reminder of the power of human connections and the importance of being there for one another, especially during difficult times.

Line by Line Meaning

When you're down and troubled
When you are feeling sad and distressed

And you need some love and care
And you require attention and affection

And nothing, nothing is going right
And everything seems to be going wrong

Close your eyes and think of me
Think of me and imagine my presence around you

And soon I will be there
And I will come to see you and help you soon

To brighten up even your darkest night
To make you feel better even during your worst times

You just call out my name
You just ask for my help

And you know wherever I am
You are confident that I will come to you, no matter where I am

I'll come running, to see you again
I will rush to you to meet you once more

Winter, spring, summer or fall
No matter what season it is

All you have to do is call
All you need to do is ask for my help