Flutist Magnus Lindgren leads a venerable group of musicians on Stockholm Underground, an homage to Herbie Mann's 1969 release Memphis Underground. Featuring leading artists from the Stockholm jazz scene such as guitarist Henrik Janson, bassist Lars Danielsson and drummer Per Lindvall, this is a sweet, funky tribute that puts a Scandinavian spin on a collection of soul and rock classics. The special guests are Eric Bibb, Till Brönner and Ida Sand.

Back in 1994 when Nils Landgren started up his Funk Unit, there were those who asked whether there was actually any need for Swedish funk. After seventeen years, ten albums and several hundreds of concerts, the question has basically answered itself: to find the most fired-up take on this music anywhere, a sound which is inextricably welded into soul, rhythm and blues and jazz, and in which all of the instruments – and the vocals too – have an irresistible rhythmic urgency about them, this is definitely the band to see and hear.

Nils Landgren's "Christmas With My Friends" is a faithful companion at Christmas time and the repertoire is almost inexhaustible. The eighth edition also presents a varied selection of international, Swedish, traditional and modern Christmas songs as well as atmospheric secular popular songs in the familiar quiet and intimate mood.

Four is a winner: that was the unanimous opinion of critics and audiences alike on the first album from German-Swedish supergroup 4 Wheel Drive. The eponymous debut disc from this band of bandleaders went straight to the top spot as best-selling jazz album in Germany for2019. And the media didn’t hold back with their praise either: “Four first-league jazz musicians with pure joy of playing and a love of good pop music”, said ZDF’s “heute-journal” about this spirited and enjoyable group, which combines trombonist/singer Nils Landgren, pianist Michael Wollny, bassist/cellist Lars Danielsson and drummer Wolfgang Haffner. AllAboutJazz, a leading American jazz website, asked whether this album might be worth adding to a listener’s collection, and answered the question succinctly:”4 sure”.

Whilst Ida Sand's second ACT album "True Love" was to some extent a family affair - an homage to her husband Ola Gustafsson and new born daughter - her third ACT album "The Gospel Truth", signals a return to her roots and a unique combination of European and American soul. Released two years after "True Love", "The Gospel Truth: presents the Swedish Jazz singer following on musically from her 2007 ACT debut, Meet Me Around Midnight", which captivated listeners with a sound which was "distinctively earthy, soaked with the blood of the blues, saturated by gospel, weathered by jazz and infected by soul".

ACT's star Viktoria Tolstoy has recorded 12 songs for (and in most cases by) Herbie Hancock. With "Letters to Herbie" Tolstoy was faced with a tough choice. Her smart decision was not to pick the biggest hits, such as "Cantaloupe Island" or "Watermelon Man", which have already been covered too often. Her choice of songs fits together perfectly, although the selection covers Hancocks different musical eras.

An award-winning jazz vocalist from Sweden with an international following, Rigmor Gustafsson has strong ties to the United States, where she launched her career, as well as Germany, where she recorded for the ACT label, not to mention her homeland, where she is a contemporary jazz icon. In addition to her studio recordings and live performances, she's an accredited educator who taught at both the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music in Stockholm for a couple years before her singing career became a full-time profession.

When Viktoria Tolstoy invites you to meet her at the movies, the emotions will run high, and it will be a pleasure and a privilege to accept. Viktoria Tolstoy’s voice has an intriguing, bittersweet, melting quality. And there’s her unique way of lingering tantalizingly between drama and melodrama. And there’s the way she simultaneously reveals both her Swedish heart and her Russian soul.

Nils Landgren has been and remains the absolute linchpin of the ACT family. To date, the Swede has made forty albums on the label as leader, plus another twenty as producer or soloist. Michael Wollny, whose many many projects with Landgren give him a special connection, sums up a key element in his success: “With Nils everything becomes easy.” There is indeed a particular ease about Mr. Red Horn’s way of being; it is infectious and runs through everything he does. Which is all the more remarkable when one considers the sheer number of roles he takes on: trombonist, singer, bandleader, producer, festival director, professor, curator, talent scout and mentor.

"New Eyes on Martin Luther" is an experiment based on Nils Landgren's relentless conviction that “music is music” and “nothing is impossible”. With those words serving as a motto, the three ensembles on this live album dive in without preconceptions. The traditional German folk song Die Gedanken sind frei is here performed with a percussive flute solo; Landgren’s smooth voice floating on top of a funky rhythm. Sometimes he joins Capella de la Torre with a trombone solo and when all play together it sounds as if the music was originally written with this in mind. It moves seamlessly between genres and conveys the sound of skilled musicians having fun.

"Unbreakable" is the 11th studio release from Swedish band the Nils Landgren Funk Unit. The brainchild of trombonist Nils Landgren, this record features legends such as Ray Parker Jr., Randy Brecker, and Tim Hagans, making for an undeniably funky listen. The album was recorded in November 2016 in the legendary Atlantis Studios in Stockholm, also the recording site for artists like ABBA, Scorpions, Elvis Costello and Esbjörn Svensson.

Christmas 2020 will be unlike the Christmases of the past, because the Covid-19 crisis and social distancing have fundamentally changed the way we live. Maybe they will also make us yearn more for the true spirit and the joys of Christmas. As we reflect and contemplate on what is important to us, we know that we want to keep hold of our sense of friendship and community. We feel a strong imperative to reach out for whatever can bring joy to the world. And with that thought in mind, there can surely be very few people who can gift-wrap the Christmas season in music for us – and do so quite as naturally, effectively and magically – as Nils Landgren.

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…