The second Jazzkynä article of the Jazz in Finland 100 anniversary year features Juha Henriksson examining the breakthrough of Finnish jazz schlager. In the 1950s, it brought the swing of jazz to mass audiences, propelled female singers into the spotlight, and created a distinctive Finnish sound.
So-called jazz schlager conquered Finland in the latter half of the 1950s. Brita Koivunen’s 1956 recording Suklaasydän was such a success that it earned Finland’s first gold record and was quickly followed by many similar hits.
Jazz schlager was an intriguing blend of influences: American jazz and popular music, Eastern European and Russian traditions, Finnish dance music and Jewish klezmer. For instance, Russian minor-key melodies were performed as swinging foxtrots. The key developer of this new style was the record company Scandia, whose leading trio – Harry Orvomaa, Paavo Einiö and Jaakko Salo – were all passionate jazz enthusiasts.
Before the breakthrough of jazz schlager, record sales in Finland had been dominated by male singers, but now new female artists took over the top of the charts. Alongside Brita Koivunen, the genre helped elevate performers such as Vieno Kekkonen, Laila Kinnunen, Helena Siltala and Eila Pellinen.
There were several reasons for this rise of female singers. After the war, women had entered the workforce in increasing numbers. At the same time, the music industry was actively searching for new talent. International stars such as Doris Day also served as important role models. During this shift, the marketing of popular music changed significantly: whereas concerts had previously been advertised under the bandleader’s name, star vocalists now took center stage on posters.
A large portion of jazz schlager consisted of translated versions of foreign songs, which was nothing new in Finnish popular music. Translations of Anglo-American and Italian hits were widely popular in Finland, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s. The recordings featured the best jazz musicians of the time, which gave them a relaxed, swinging feel. Musicians had mixed attitudes toward jazz schlager: some did not consider it “real jazz,” but many appreciated how it brought jazz influences to audiences who might not otherwise have listened to jazz.
I have written books on four key figures in Finnish popular music: Toivo Kärki, Erik Lindström, Jaakko Salo and Rauno Lehtinen. The close relationship between Finnish schlager and jazz is evident in the fact that jazz significantly influenced all of their careers and output.
Erik Lindström was the most distinctly a jazz musician among them and was rightfully named Finland’s first Jazz Legend. A skilled bassist and vibraphonist, he played jazz from the 1940s almost until his death. At the same time, he was a prolific composer of popular songs, with a wide stylistic range – from couplets to big band works. In nearly all his compositions, he incorporated subtle jazz elements that blended seamlessly into the whole. His jazz-influenced hits include Ranskalaiset korot, Armi and Liian vähän aikaa.
Toivo Kärki, perhaps the most influential figure in Finnish popular music, also began his career in jazz. He played in the Ramblers in the 1930s and won an international composition competition organized by Melody Maker magazine in 1939. Kärki dreamed of an international career, but the war changed his plans. During his time at the front, he composed his first tangos, skillfully combining jazz harmonies and American song structures with Russian-style melodies and tango rhythms. Although most of his work is not rhythmically jazz-based, in the late 1950s he demonstrated his talent as a jazz schlager composer—for example in Onni, jonka annoin pois, recorded by Eila Pellinen.
Jaakko Salo began his musical career not only as an accordionist but also as a jazz pianist and vibraphonist. His own compositions are relatively few, but as an arranger he was one of the most important innovators in Finnish popular music. His arrangements played a central role in the breakthrough of jazz schlager. The skill of Salo and Finnish jazz musicians is evident in the fact that many translated songs were more inventive and swung more strongly than the original versions. At the Scandia label in particular, translated songs were far from routine – they were crafted with great care.
Rauno Lehtinen played jazz, among others, in Ronnie Kranck’s band. He was a violinist in the style of Svend Asmussen and, as a multi-instrumentalist, mastered all the saxophones. Lehtinen is best remembered for the internationally successful Letkis dance, but as a composer he was highly versatile. His jazz background can be heard, for example, in the elegant bossa nova-style piece Toiset meistä, originally composed for Laila Kinnunen.
If Finnish jazz schlager interests you, it is worth exploring the book Suklaasydän, tinakuoret, edited by Janne Mäkelä and Ari Poutiainen. It is available as an open-access publication on the Music Archive's website, where you can also freely download the aforementioned works on Kärki, Salo, and Lehtinen, as well as Jukka Haavisto’s classic history of Finnish jazz Puuvillapelloilta kaskimaille and Pekka Jalkanen’s account of the early years of Finnish jazz, Alaska, Bombay ja Billy Boy.
Juha Henriksson is the director of the Music Archive and a docent at the University of Helsinki. He has taught and written about Finnish jazz since 1995.