Nature Boy

The Man with the Red Horn. Nils Landgren’s nickname is apt. It brings to mind the fiery, coruscating energy with which the charismatic, soulful trombonist leads his Funk Unit. And yet there are many other facets to this hugely popular Swedish musician. In the course of a 40-year career, he has taken on many roles, producing albums, directing festivals, leading big bands, teaching in universities... And yet his musical personality also has a very different side, one that is much more delicate and softer. It has previously come to the fore in various contexts, notably at the end of the 1990s in his duo with Esbjörn Svensson and their groundbreaking interpretations of Swedish folk music on the albums "Swedish Folk Modern" and "Layers Of Light".

Here is a genuine premiere: Nils Landgren's first ever solo album. The fact that “Nature Boy”, the otherworldly song made famous by Nat King Cole, became the album’s title track is no accident: it is about a "strange boy" who has "wandered very far over land and sea " to realise that the most precious thing is "to love and be loved in return ". These sentiments are analogous to the story of how the album itself came into existence. On 13 March 2020, Nils Landgren had returned to Skillinge in southern Sweden from Hamburg, having taken the last flight before borders closed and Europe went into lockdown. For a person who in normal circumstances would hardly ever spend a whole week in the same place, Landgren suddenly and unexpectedly found himself for several months with his wife Bea in their old house near the coast. A "strange but personally wonderful time", as Landgren remembers, but around Christmas-time he began to miss the "Christmas With My Friends" tour that would normally have been happening. So he suggested to Bea that he might at least play and record alone for her in the church. She immediately loved the idea and so Nature Boy was born.