Experience: Jill Scott 826+
Anyone who's seen Jill Scott live knows she's the real deal--a down-home diva more concerned with working a melody or getting her groove on thanBritney-fied glitz orBadu-style pride. So it's no surprise that the singer's warmth translates beautifully onExperience, a collection of 11 live tracks recorded at Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall, plus 6 previously unreleased cuts. With theHeadhunters-esque intro of "A Long Walk" that opens the double disc, Scott and her more-than-capable backing band, Fatback Taffy, establish a heartfelt rapport with the audience that comes through not only in their reinterpretations of the singer's tunes, but in the pauses in between. This is apparent throughout, like when Scott notices a pregnant woman in the crowd and says with a giggle, "I see that baby in that belly over there--what's that baby doing?" Or when the Philly native belts the bridge on "Love Rain," intoning the line "You broke me, but now I'm healing" in lush, redemptive timbres. As for the new studio tracks, Scott offers up a set of solid originals that should leave fans plenty satisfied till her new album drops. Tracks like "Gimme," a funk-heavy dance track, and the drum & bass-driven "Gotta Get Up," are about as infectious as they come, while "Be Ready" features Scott's voice at its most gorgeous, her rich alto punctuating the song's syncopations with grace and ease.--Sylvia W. Chan