Jo Mango is the stage name of a British alternative folk and acoustic singer and songwriter from Glasgow, otherwise known as Jo Collinson Scott, a lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland. ^[1] Jo Mango has also been the name of her band.

Born in Yorkshire, ^[2] Scott grew up in rural north-east Scotland. ^[3] As a teenager she became involved in Aberdeen's music scene; her first band was called The Mangomen and included her twin brother. ^{[4] [3]} In 1999 ^[5] or 2000, ^[6] at the age of eighteen, she moved to Glasgow to study music and psychology, aiming to become a music therapist. ^{[5] [6] [7]} There she also developed her skills via open mic nights at the Glasgow bar Nice 'n' Sleazy's, ^[6] and by playing in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and a folk band named The Old Blind Dogs. ^[5]

Scott's first album, Paperclips and Sand, emerged in 2006. ^{[6] [8]} 2006–7 saw Scott touring internationally as a member of Vashti Bunyan's band, and in the UK on the Zero Degrees of Separation tour alongside Bunyan, David Byrne, Adem, Juana Molina, and Vetiver. ^{[9] [3] [10]} At this time, Scott named key influences as 'Emiliana Torrini, Stina Nordestam, Bright Eyes, Ben Folds, Bjork, Kate Rusby, quirky indie acoustica'. ^{[8] [11]} Other collaborations in the years around 2010 included work with Teenage Fanclub and Admiral Fallow. ^[5]

The Scotland Herald described Scott's 2013 EP When We Lived in The Crook of a Tree as "[a voice] so hushed and precise, that it sounds as if it were recorded inside your own head". ^{[12] [13]}

In 2012, Scott completed a PhD in musicology, ^{[3] [10]} with the thesis "Experiments in schizoanalysis: a new approach to analysis of conceptual music". ^[14] By 2015, she had become a lecturer in commercial music at the University of the West of Scotland. ^[15] She has also taught at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. ^[16]

In the mid-2010s, Scott's work focused on promoting ecological sustainability in music festivals, ^[17] leading to her EP Wrack Lines, ^{[18] [19]} and a project called When Tomorrow Becomes Yesterday. ^[20]

In the years around 2020, Scott was undertaking creative work relating to prisoners' rehabilitation, leading to her EP System Hold, ^{[21] [22]: 5  [23]: 9} characterised in The Scotsman as 'featherlight piano balladry with subtle electronic beats' providing 'a chill-out meditation on themes of incarceration, monitoring and suspension of liberty'. ^[24] The work also involved Scott in a music festival called Distant Voices highlighting the music of people who had experienced the criminal justice system, and her composition of a multimedia piece named A Giant on the Bridge. ^[2]

At the time of the release of the 2012 album Murmuration, the band named Jo Mango comprised: ^[5]

• Jo Mango: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, kalimba, toy piano, concertina
• Jim Mango: bass player, backing vocals
• Alan Peacock: backing vocals, guitar
• Katherine Waumsley: flute, piano, kalimba and concertina
• Calum Scott: percussion

1. Antidote (2003)
2. Fluffy Brain (2004)
3. The Moth and the Moon / Black Sun (2010)
4. Wrack Lines (2016 – Jo Mango & Friends)
5. System Hold (2019 – Jo Mango & Friends)

1. Paperclips and Sand (2006)
2. Murmuration (2012)
3. Transformuration (2014 - Remixes of Murmuration)

1. "My Lung" (2007 - Download Only)

• The official Jo Mango website (archived 2008)
• Myspace page (archived 2009)
• anotherday.co.uk - Vashti Bunyan Official Site