"Schneider's glasses"

A discovery

Gunhild Carling not only plays the trumpet and trombone, but also masters numerous other instruments.

(Bild: LBB)

"Krone" columnist and author Robert Schneider recently made a new discovery in the art of music: Swedish singer and multi-instrumentalist Gunhild Carling not only impressed him, but jazz fans throughout Europe and North America.  

Until last Friday, I didn't think that anything would be able to lure me out from behind the stove so easily in musical terms. Then, while browsing the net, I came across a musician whose stupendous skills simply blew me away. The lady's name is Gunhild Carling, she was born in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1975 and specializes in the hot jazz and swing of the 1920s and 1930s.

Her father was already a jazz musician. Her mother played the violin and banjo. At the tender age of seven, Gunhild played in the family band "The Carling Family" for the first time. She has kept up this tradition, as her own children now play with her in the band.

Families of musicians are a dime a dozen, which is nothing special. What sets the Carlings apart, however, is an instrumental all-rounder on a virtuoso level that I have never come across before.

Gunhild Carling herself plays trumpet, trombone, drums, harmonica, oboe, bagpipes, recorder, harp, double bass and piano - all with a virtuoso command of each instrument. She also sings in the most exquisite way.

Watching this woman perform the swing song "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by American composer and songwriter Mack Gordon, for example, is an experience. It's incredible how she switches from one instrument to another, then sings the lyrics, picks up the trombone again and improvises magnificently. Gunhild Carling is more than a thoroughbred musician.

I was completely unaware of this musician until now. In Sweden, she is "only" a local celebrity. She was discovered as a celebrity dancer on TV4's "Let's Dance" and when she was invited to perform at the Swedish king's jubilee in 2013. Unbelievable.