What London based jazz band is lead by vocalist Lauren Kinsella?

What London-based jazz band is led by vocalist Lauren Kinsella? Snowpoet. The group is a London-based band co-led by Irish vocalist Lauren Kinsella and bassist Chris Hyson.

Snowpoet developed from Kinsella and Hyson’s creative partnership and grew out of London’s contemporary jazz scene. Their music combines jazz with chamber-pop, folk, improvisation and carefully layered arrangements, often balancing Kinsella’s delicate vocal lines with Hyson’s warm, spacious writing.

Kinsella moved from Dublin to London in 2010 and studied jazz singing and composition at the Royal Academy of Music, where she won the Kenny Wheeler Prize. Snowpoet released its debut album through Two Rivers Records and later issued albums including Thought You Knew and Wait for Me on Edition Records.

A common mix-up is calling Snowpoet solely Kinsella’s band. She is its leading vocalist and co-leader, but Hyson is an equally central creative force. The wider group has also included prominent London jazz musicians such as drummer Dave Hamblett and saxophonist Josh Arcoleo.