Finger-snapping percussions launch Track 3 of Jill Scott’s second CD, “Beautifully Human.”
The sound is appropriate for a Philadelphia vocalist who honed her stage presence and lyrical prowess in that city’s spoken-word scene. During a poetry set, finger-snapping crowds are on a par with a standing ovation – a sign the artist connected with her audience.
Each act booked into this summer’s Sugar Water Festival – playing Colorado on Tuesday – connects with people who love black music but can do without rap’s bling obsession: Erykah Badu with her theatrical, Afro-funk; Queen Latifah with her nu-street-jazz; Floetry with its world-beat rap.
Scott is likely to be the strongest vocalist of them all. She is one of three Grammy winners in the lineup, but her accessible public persona makes her the most “around-the-way girl” on the tour. And that’s what really reels ’em in.
Recall for a minute one of Scott’s early steps into the mainstream spotlight. Four years ago, she shared the Radio City Music Hall stage with Janet Jackson and Mary J. Blige during the “VH1 Divas Live” tribute to Aretha Franklin. A virtual nobody at the time compared with the music dynamos in that show, Scott thrilled TV Land with a sultry rendition of her breakout hit, “Long Walk.”
That was when we knew she could command a crowd. And early reviews from the Sugar Water Festival – so named because the women involved hope to impart the celebratory, uplifting vibe that has become the cornerstone of their music – indicate that each act brings something special to the stage. But when it comes to singing live, Scott is the clear standout.
We hear her ability to woo on “Golden,” a single on her follow-up to “Who Is Jill Scott?” It was her the major-label debut, named after a guerrilla marketing campaign that took place while the singer was opening for The Roots five years ago, but still relatively unknown.
Scott trumped her own popular, open-book debut about a young woman’s challenged journey to self-love with 2004’s “Beautifully Human,” a jazzy, soulful collection co-produced by DJ Jazzy Jeff and featuring such respected guests as trumpeter Nicholas Payton and neo-soul veteran Raphael Saadiq.
“Golden” sets the tone for stories laced with grown-up affection. Scott reveals herself to have blossomed into a wife and mother who also has managed to maintain the free-thinking artist’s identity fans have found so alluring. She croons:
“I’m taking my freedom / Pulling it off the shelf / Putting it on my chain / Wearing it round my neck. …”
But most charming about “Golden” is the music itself, which embraces a street-savvy edge. The beat-heavy sound is innate to the hip-hop generation. And without that foundation, Jill Scott would have been just another female vocalist.
The Sugar Water Festival featuring Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Queen Latifah and Floetry plays Coors Amphitheatre on Tuesday. Tickets: $25.50-$65 via Ticketmaster.
Staff writer Elana Ashanti Jefferson can be reached at 303-820-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com.
