SINGER AND SONGWRITER, Sophie Bancroft’s music has been used on various American hit TV series including HBO’s ‘Six Feet Under’ and CSI, featured on Virgin Atlantic’s inflight entertainment, and recorded by various award winning artistes including jazz vocalist Liane Carroll and pianist Louis Durra. A confident musical voice that is distinctly jazz-based, Sophie writes and performs with an inspirational folk expression, alongside the wit, sensuality and expressive minimalism of a jazz vocalist.
“Her glorious tonal intonation – both as a guitarist and vocalist, and her articulation of the lyric – draws you in, deep inside the song’s stories and emotions of the characters she brings to life with such vividness. By digging into the meaning of words and phrases and then letting them live again in the floating lyric, Sophie Bancroft seems to suggest that music speaks to her in the intimacy of her heart. And she pays it forward by making the songs come alive with uncommon poise and elegance.”
JAZZ DA GAMA
FILMMAKER
Sophie’s film-poem (S)kin was screened at the Women Over Fifty Film Festival (WOFFF) 2021 and Italian film festival Cinema D’Idea 2022 and her experimental film-song Old Mother Blackbird was screened at WOFFF 2023.
Old Mother Blackbird is currently being shown as part of Virgin Atlantic’s inflight entertainment package 2024/2025 and was highlighted in their inflight magazine Vera – “A gentle gem of a film”
BANCROFT & LYNE
Scottish-based duo (Sophie with bassist Tom Lyne) have been performing together for the past 2 decades. Their repertoire includes a mix of original contemporary jazz-based songs alongside reimagined jazz classics and covers of songs by the likes of Suzanne Vega and Joni Mitchell.
” Pure jazz. Authentic renditions of standards and beautiful originals, reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Carole King, James Taylor and that golden era.” JAZZ @ THE GLAD
Their most recent album ‘Monday Nights’ was listed as one of the top Jazz albums of 2020 by JazzViews and received international critical acclaim:
“Bancroft & Lyne are first-class jazz performers, improvisers and songwriters.” THE WHOLENOTE, Canada
“Monday Nights – an album of the highest class, superbly produced, and entertaining” JAZZVIEWS
“Monday Nights – an album to absolutely die for” JAZZDAGAMA, Canada
SONG LIFE
Listen here to my song CALGARY BAY
which has also been recorded by Liane Carroll and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and various other artists
Listen here to my song OLD MOTHER BLACKBIRD
which is currently featured on Virgin Atlantic’s inflight entertainment
Listen here to my song CELLULOID HYPNOTIC
co-written with electronic band Spylab – which has been featured on HBO’s series Six Feet Under and crime series CSI
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
LisaLeo Records is a musician-owned independent music label in Scotland run Tom Lyne and Sophie Bancroft
We are celebrating LisaLeo’s 10th release in June 2025 with the arrival of Tom Lyne’s new CD
‘WELL MIXED BLUE’
And later in the year we are releasing a series of RETROSPECTIVE EPs as part of our ’10th release celebration’
CARDS, WRITING AND PODCASTS
Sophie has designed a series of greetings cards featuring her landscape photography, lyrics and songs.
Awarded a Masters with Distinction in Creative Writing in 2019 she is now a published writer of personal essays and poetry and has recorded and released three podcast series.
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Sophie was songwriter, composer and musical director for Dementia: The Musical written by Ron Coleman from Deepness Dementia Media. The musical toured the major theatres in Scotland during Autumn 2024 after receiving funding from Creative Scotland’s touring fund.
“A mix of musical theatre pizazz and political intent”
“a mix of agit-prop, Kafkaesque absurdism”
**** The Herald
“Perfectly paced and expertly executed”
**** North West End
“Deserves to be described as inspiring in the best sense of the word”
**** Corr Blimey
“A quietly tremendous celebration of activism”
“overwhelmingly moving”
“profoundly life affirming”
**** The Scotsman
CHECK OUT WHAT MY PEOPLE ARE UP TO
Some of my creative work
MONDAY NIGHTS released on Lisaleo Records Nov 2020
Listed as one of JAZZVIEWS albums of the year in 2020
“An album of the highest class, superbly produced, and entertaining” JAZZVIEWS
“Jazz and folk, delivered with an intimacy and joy”
MICHAEL’S MUSIC LOG
This is music to chill to, possibly over a nightcap. Bancroft’s lyrics are thoughtful and poignant, the overall sound calming and warm – just the ticket for the present, Covid times.”
LONDON JAZZ NEWS
“An album to absolutely die for” JAZZDAGAMA.COM
“Bancroft & Lyne are first-class jazz performers, improvisers and songwriters. Their performances here are upbeat, musical and subtle.” THE WHOLENOTE
Film Song ‘Old Mother Blackbird’
released 2022
Screened at the ‘Women Over50 Film Festival‘ 2023
&
Official selection at the ‘Toronto International Film Festival’ 2022
Film Poem ‘(S)kin’ released 2021
Screened at the ‘Women Over50 Film Festival‘ 2021
Screened at Cinema d’IDEA 2022
Winner of Best Documentary Short at 8&Halfilm Awards 2022
Honourable Mention for Best Mobile Film at Fox International Film Festival May 2022
Essay ‘A Mother’s Tale’ included in a compilation of poems written by sufferers of the BRCA gene mutation and associated cancers called ‘Steel Petals.’ Compiled by CL Monaghan, Published by Hudson Indie Ink, Publication Date 1st October 2021.
Poem ‘Courage’ commissioned by singer-songwriter Sara Colman to feature on the CD cover of her album ‘What We’re Made Of,’ released in September 2018
Article ‘Womb Talk’ published in the Shiatsu Society Journal, Issue 146, Summer 2018 – pages 25 to 27
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:2510da65-d626-4ccc-80c6-0bd92acde773
SONGS released on Lisaleo Records Apr 2015
“Bancroft’s best album by some distance. Her voice as beautifully recorded as I’ve heard it.” THE HERALD
“If Dolly Parton was from Scotland and sang jazz for a living then that’s exactly how Jolene would have sounded.”
Roddy Hart, BBC Radio Scotland
“Nothing short of completely captivating. This is perfect late-night listening for a bright spring day (if you get my drift!).” FATEA MAGAZINE
“Folk-inflected jazz. Mellifluously jazz-informed vocals with a certain folk sensibility. A jazzy languor with rootsy warm-heartedness.” THE SCOTSMAN WEEKEND LIFE MAGAZINE
BROADWAY BABY: ****
YOU TURNED THE TABLES ON ME released on Lisaleo Records Oct 2012
“A warmly intimate husband-wife singer/acoustic guitar-bass duo set made up of standards, scats and self-penned originals.” JAZZWISE
“Their intriguing new duo album”
Alyn Shipton, BBC RADIO 3
“Theirs is new jazz from Scotland, and sounds amazingly full and powerful. You don’t miss the other instruments at all!” THE GUARDIAN
“ Great late-night listening.” FATEA
BIRD OF PARADISE released on Lisaleo Records Oct 2010
“Completely captivating. She has a knack of wrapping that voice round the lyrics in a way that speaks directly and personally to the listener.” FOLK AND ROOTS
“An impressive set of songs that deserve to be heard by a wider audience.” MAVERICK MAGAZINE 4 STARS
“An excellent reviewer of the human condition with song as the medium for her writing. ” FATEA
“Over the years she’s drawn comparison to several world-class artists, including Peggy Lee, Alison Krauss and Norah Jones. That sort of information comes as no great surprise once you’ve had the chance to hear Bancroft sing. Her voice is a perfect instrument, and when partnered by her own songs, the effect is both moving and incredibly life affirming.“ LEICESTER BANGS
“She channels her jazz raising into folk intimacy. ” NETRHYTHMS
HANDWRITTEN released on Lisaleo Records June 2008
“Nice how a jazz singer uses folk influences to create her own, unique style. I love it.” FOLKWORLD
“The female element in the Bancroft clan, (brothers Tom and Phil are, respectively, drummer and saxophonist) turns her family jazz influence down low on her latest album, allowing folk, blues and contemporary singer-songwriter styles to weave inside her compositions.” SUNDAY HERALD
“More than almost any artist in the winsome nouveau folk sphere of current fashionability, there is something utterly disarming about the transparency and straightforwardness of jazz singer Sophie Bancroft.” THE HERALD
“There is a cheekiness and a hint of a Gallic shrug to Ms Bancroft’s light jazz style. Her songs tend towards the observational often with a wry sense of perspective. Like chasing butterflies on a summer’s day.” FATEA
HOT AND COLD released on Lisaleo Records April 2005
“This elegant and meticulously produced CD inhabits the border territory between jazz and folk-country-pop, which suits Sophie Bancroft’s cool, rather ethereal voice to perfection. “ THE OBSERVER
“Sophie is without a doubt a jazz singer, but to this brings via her own song-writing talents influences from the world of pop and country. She has a light a clear delivery that is immediately appealing, and has a knack of writing a catchy melody that she is able to arrange in a way that keeps the interest not just for the listener, but also the first class band that she has retained for the last couple of years.” JAZZVIEWS
“ Her voice is heavenly. She could sing about opening a bag of crisps and it would feel spiritually uplifting. With her new lo-fi jazz album, Hot and Cold, Sophie does the impossible. She makes jazz accessible and reaches people who wouldn’t normally touch jazz with a barge pole. A blissful album that has elements of Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. Play it on your way out and let it rescue you from the ceiling when you get home. This album is hip, cool and simply beautiful.” THE BIG ISSUE
MODERN LOVE released on Lisaleo Records 2003
“Echoes along the way range from Peggy Lee to Joan Armatrading, Alison Krauss to BjÖrk, in a a boldly achieved balance of the classic and the contemporary”. SUNDAY HERALD
“Sophie Bancroft has an impressive CV that covers jazz, pop and folk. She draws on all these diverse skills, weaving them through a captivatingly moody set of songs just right for staring out of the window on a rainy day.
One of the great problems a jazz singer faces is the weight of tradition (Ella, Billie, Sarah, Carmen, Betty) and being boxed into a corner by the standards repertoire. As soon as you sing Gershwin or Kern or Rogers and Hart you are immediately in competition with the past, which is great if that’s what you want to do. There’s a whole nouveau school of jazz singers emerging doing just that and audiences are apparently clamouring for more. But standards tend to swallow a singer’s individuality whole because they plug into a range of audience expectations that have to be met. Originality is hard to find, craftsmanship is what audiences want the good old songs sang the same old way.
The way to get around this road block is to write your own material. Since the rise of singer songwriter in pop this seems an obvious route to take, but few have. But by doing so you create your own scene, play by your own rules and that’s what Sophie Bancroft has done, and it works. There’s an openness and transparency in her songs that communicate, and after all, that’s what it’s all about.” JAZZWISE
THIS UTOPIA released on Guidance Recordings, 2002
“Sophie Bancroft’s voice will send shivers of sensuality down your spine.” Massive Magazine
“The melancholy lyrics, carried by Bancroft’s sweet, soulful whisper of a voice, nail you.” Propeller Magazine
“To keep this a national secret would be nothing short of criminal.” DJ Magazine
“Original trip-hop tunes elevate further with the dreamy, white-soul vocals of Sophie Bancroft. Persuasively terrific.” NZ Herald
