Carola

Carola Christina Standertskjöld-Liemola (23 March 1941 – 12 November 1997), professionally known as Carola, was a Finnish jazz and pop singer. Her style was partially inspired by American singers of the 1950s. Simultaneously, it was in the spirit of the modal jazz scene going down in Europe in the 1960s. Mostly, Carola's jazz repertoire consisted in idiosyncratic versions of American songs in English, while her most famous jazz track "The Flame" was an original composition by Esa Pethman and the lyrics by the singer herself. As the vocalist for Esa Pethman's quartet and Hazy Osterwald's sextet in the early 1960s, Carola made fame in Finland and Sweden, and toured Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Switzerland. Her most significant recording is a session with the Heikki Sarmanto Trio from 1966, which the Finnish Music Information Centre considers among the original blueprints of Finnish jazz. Carola's recordings have been credited for the accosting tone of her contralto voice and her phrasing. The singer also co-produced the groovy approach of her supporting orchestras. In late 1960s and early 1970s, she performed in nine languages and a wide variety of styles, including chanson, schlager, Latin, rock'n'roll, and soul. After her death of Alzheimer's disease in 1997, Carola's music was revived in 2004 with two Best of albums and Carola & Heikki Sarmanto Trio reaching the Finnish charts. Carola Christina Standertskjöld was born on 23 March 1941 to Elin Christina Fazer and Johan Standertskjöld, into a Swedish-speaking noble family in Helsinki. They left the harsh Finnish post-war conditions and settled in Switzerland. From a very young age Carola was interested in learning foreign languages. Later her family moved to Spain, where her first public jazz performance took place; she also performed the French chansons at school parties and small occasions, accompanying herself on the acoustic guitar.