Let me explain. The first concert was in Chicago and Jill was in the midst of her successful debut album Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1. I’m unsure what year the concert was, but her first album was released in 2000. She was nominated for a Grammy in 2003 for Best Female Vocal Performance.
She lost that year, but won in 2005 for Best Urban/Alternative R&B Performance for her song “Cross My Mind”. Based on this timeline, it was about twenty years ago, give or take a few years. Either way, it was a long time ago. A lot has changed since that performance at the Chicago Theatre in downtown Chicago.
That night, Jill didn’t sing, she sang! She sang like no one I have ever heard before live. She switched up the songs, not in a current Lauryn Hill way, but like it was meant to be if that makes sense. Her voice was clear, sultry, powerful, and beautiful. Her songs were sung to show a vocal range that extended from scat to opera singer.
Sometimes you go to a concert and an artist doesn’t sound like the person in their songs. This concert felt like an introduction or a confirmation that Jill Scott was who we thought she was. Who is Jill Scott? The real deal!
This could be a good and bad thing for some artists. The good thing is that you are established as an artist. You don’t have to prove anything because people know what you bring and who you are. The bad thing is that sometimes that comes with complacency. Some artists know that their fans are cool with seeing them in person and hearing their favorite songs. They don’t expand, evolve, or create. This especially could be the case with someone like Jill Scott. She is not only a beloved, award-winning performing artist, but an established working actress with an extensive resume in film and television.
That’s why twenty years later, I wasn’t expecting more, hell, if it was anything close to what I had seen, I would have been satisfied. Well, I’m lying, I expected more and wanted more, not from a performance standpoint, but from a professional and personal angle.
Coming from someone who is part of the media, I wanted to interview Jill Scott, and hopefully, this encounter would lead to, I don’t know maybe a date. Well, I know the latter was far-fetched, both were a hope that was borderline an expectation.
I didn’t get either, but I did get more. I got evolution and creativity, I got the “Jill Scott experience.” I got someone who has been married and divorced. I saw someone who is a parent and has matured. It seems like a lot to quantify all this into a 40-minute performance, but you know growth when you see it.
Jill Scott doesn’t just sing songs; she talks about her experiences and emotions. She is more in tune with her body and sexual freedom. I mean the show wasn’t a burlesque, but it was spicy. It was the difference between me watching a 20 or 30-year-old woman and a 50-year-old woman. If you dealt with either, then you know there is a difference.
I was impressed, to say the least, hopefully, you will be also, after you check out the footage below.
