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The BiTS Interview: Gunhild Carling

Gunhild Carling (born 7 May 1975) is a Swedish jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist.

She is best known for playing trombone but is skilled in half a dozen instruments. In
2013, she performed with her 'Carling Big Band' at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in the

celebration of King Carl XVI Gustaf's Ruby Jubilee. In 2016, Carling performed at King
Carl XVI Gustaf's 70th birthday celebration. In 2018, Carling moved to northern

California with her family. She recently toured in Sweden and after a hectic chase, Ian
McKenzie spoke to her on the phone at an hotel in Paris.

BiTS: Gunhild, let’s make a start. What I
want to know is something about your
background and what your aspirations are
for the future and that kind of thing. Tell
me, you grew up in a very musical family –
your father and siblings and whatever all

playing instruments. What was that like?

GH: We have been playing all the time
because we are all very interested in music
and we play all the time and we have big
pleasure in playing music, composing
music, making music instruments and I
have three siblings and now my siblings
have kids and I can see on them that they
also, they play all the time together, the
cousins with each other because we find a
joy in it. That’s the background.

BiTS: Your father was a musician himself
and he was running a band, I think, which
you later became a member of. Did you
choose the trombone, or was it kind of
forced upon you?

GH: I tried the clarinet and I was not
successful, but then I tried trombone and I
found out at once in a minute where the
notes were and so I guess I understood it,
the idea of trombone. I just decided to play

trombone from the first day.

BiTS: Did you find it difficult to start off with?

GH: No, trombone is an easy instrument to play, actually. It’s not the worst instrument you can
choose.

BiTS: Did you have lessons, or did you just teach yourself?