Elia Fleta was born in Madrid on February 13, 1928, the daughter of the illustrious lyrical tenor Miguel Fleta. Despite losing her father at a young age—when Elia was just 10 years old and her sister Paloma 7—the love for music remained strong in their home, primarily nurtured by their mother.

Elia and Paloma balanced their studies at the Lycée Français de Madrid with sports, becoming members of the school’s basketball team. Their passion for singing began as a hobby, performing Mexican songs by the popular Trio Calaveras, accompanied by two friends on guitar. Encouraged by these friends, they decided to continue singing.

Their amateur debut on Radio Madrid in 1950 led to an intense artistic career, forcing them to put aside other commitments. Their early repertoire consisted mainly of boleros and popular songs. In 1952, they entered the recording studio, releasing their first 78 rpm record with Columbia. It featured the ranchera “Pénjamo” by Rubén Méndez and the Creole song “Mulita” by Francisco Amor. “Pénjamo” became a staple of their performances and an essential part of their repertoire.

With enough experience to take their talent beyond Spanish-speaking audiences, Elia and Paloma faced the challenge of performing before unfamiliar crowds. Their extensive repertoire, which included songs in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish, helped them secure performances in Rome, Lisbon, and North African countries. Between 1955 and 1956, they embarked on a successful year-long tour across the Americas, performing in Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. Their live performances were well received, and major radio and television stations broadcasted their music throughout the continent.

In 1958, within just 15 days of each other, the sisters married—Paloma moved to the United States, while Elia remained in Madrid. This marked the end of their joint artistic career, which had lasted only seven years but left a lasting impression.

After some time away from the stage, Elia began a solo career in 1960, participating in the II Benidorm Song Festival. She adopted a modern pop music repertoire, recording several singles for RCA Victor between 1960 and 1963, though without major success. Around this time, she discovered jazz when pianist and composer Juan Carlos Calderón introduced her to a Sarah Vaughan record.

In the summer of 1965, Calderón invited her to sing with his trio at the Drink Club in Santander, where she made a strong impression. The trio consisted of Calderón on piano, José Luis García on double bass, and Peer Wyboris on drums.

Determined to transition fully into jazz, in the fall of that year Elia debuted at the Bourbon Street, Madrid’s famous jazz club, where she was promoted as “Spain’s First Female Jazz Singer.” Accompanied by the club’s resident sextet, directed by Calderón on piano and featuring Joe Moro on trumpet, Vladi Bas on alto saxophone and clarinet, Lin Barto on baritone saxophone, Santiago Pérez on double bass, and Pepe Nieto on drums, her repertoire included standards such as “Thou Swell,” “A Tree in the Park,” “You Are Too Beautiful,” and “Lover.” Her debut was a success, marking the beginning of her career as a jazz singer. Elia remained a star performer at Bourbon Street until the end of the year when clarinetist Albert Nicholas arrived for a month engagement at the club.

Shortly after, Elia stated in an interview with Aria Jazz magazine: “I have always been interested in jazz, although I may not have fully realized it. In fact, I felt a restlessness that I couldn’t quite satisfy by singing modern music. Just over a year ago, I went through a sort of ‘musical crisis.’ I wanted to do something better. But these good intentions could only be realized three months ago with my performance at the Bourbon Street.” When asked for her opinion on Albert Nicholas’s statement, ‘There is no other singer in all of Europe like Elia Fleta,’ she responded with warmth and sarcasm: ‘I find it incredible. Albert Nicholas is an optimistic man.’”

In early 1966, she made her first jazz recording for Columbia, backed by the Jazztet of Madrid. The group included José Chenoll on trombone, Pedro Iturralde on tenor saxophone, and the core Bourbon Street musicians. The EP featured two original compositions by Calderón, “Lonely Girl” and “Remembrance to Madrid,” alongside jazz standards “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Spring Is Here.” Today, this record is a rare and sought after collector’s item.

By popular demand, Elia returned to the Bourbon Street club on May 1, 1966, where she continued to receive enthusiastic applause until the end of June. Meanwhile, pianist Tete Montoliu returned to Barcelona after his successful performance at the 1966 Antibes Jazz Festival, leading his trio, which included Swiss bassist Eric Peter and American drummer Billy Brooks. However, after Antibes, Brooks decided to return to the U.S., and to replace him, Tete called his good friend and talented drummer Peer Wyboris. Peer recommended that Tete invite Elia Fleta to perform with the trio. Tete agreed, and in the fall, Elia traveled to Barcelona, where she performed daily at the Jamboree Club, accompanied by Tete’s revamped trio.

Together, they recorded two EPs in two sessions for the local Concentric label, featuring Elia performing jazz standards in English such as “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” “Love for Sale,” “My Romance,” “This Can’t Be Love,” and “Honeysuckle Rose,” as well as two songs in Catalan: “Les fulles mortes” (Autumn Leaves) and “Cor inquiet” (My Foolish Heart).

In the first studio session, she also recorded a version of “Satin Doll,” which remained unreleased until Fresh Sound Records acquired the Concentric masters and released it in 1989 on the album 'Tete Montoliu Presents Elia Fleta,' compiling all of Elia’s studio recordings for Concentric.

During her extended stay in Barcelona, Elia, accompanied by Tete Montoliu's trio, performed on November 6, 1966, at the Palau de la Música as part of the first Barcelona Jazz Festival. That year, she was voted Best Spanish Jazz Singer by the listeners of Radio Peninsular and a network of twenty affiliated stations. She also made two radio appearances and was featured twice on the Spanish television program Gama 67.

On January 31, 1967, she was invited to perform at M.I.D.E.M. (Marché International du Disque et de l’Édition Musicale) in Cannes, accompanied by the festival’s grand orchestra with arrangements by Catalan pianist Francesc Burrull. Her performance at the Salle des Ambassadeurs ofthe Cannes Casino was praised by critic Guy Porte of L’Espoir, who described her as “a remarkable discovery with a beautiful voice and a real sense of rhythm... Elia Fleta, who, despite being Spanish, sings in English with a perfect accent, could become a true ‘Lady of Song.’”

Following this success, she was invited to perform at the R.A.I. Auditorium in Rome on the radio program Jazz Concerto, hosted by Italian singer Lilian Terry. She was accompanied by Tete Montoliu on piano, Giovanni Tommaso on bass, and Gege Munari on drums, performing “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Lush Life,” and “Love for Sale,” delivering interpretations that surpassed her previous studio recordings.

In March 1967, after six months away, Elia returned to Madrid, where she was awaited at Bourbon Street, continuing to enjoy great success. However, despite the recognition she had achieved in such a short time in the jazz world, certain disagreements and professional frustrations led her to temporarily step away from jazz in 1968 and return to commercial music.

She recorded a couple of EPs, which had little impact. After another break in her career, she returned to jazz at the new Whisky Jazz, located in the same venue that had previously housed Bourbon Street, both owned by Jean-Pierre Bourbon. There, she performed frequently with pianist Jean-Luc Vallet’s trio, with whom she later returned to Catalonia in 1974 to appear at the Jazz Cava in Terrassa and the Nits amb Jazz festival in Cardedeu. Shortly afterward, she decided to retire permanently.

She lived in Madrid, away from the spotlight, until her passing in February 2019 at the age of 91. Her jazz legacy endures through her recordings.

—Jordi Pujol (From the inside liner notes of FSRV 145 CD)