Home » Jazz Musicians » Jill Scott

Jill Scott

Born in 1972 in North Philadelphia, Jill Scott grew up in the ghetto with her mom and grandmother. A deeply loved and gifted child, she learned to talk at only eight months and was reading by age four. Always the center of attention, her principal in elementary school described her as a little butterfly.

After running from Jill's abusive stepfather, mother and child moved in with Jill's grandmother, with whom she had a very close bond. After a rough but memorable childhood, Scott attended Temple University, studying secondary education. She was planning on becoming a high-school English teacher.

When she was placed at a school as a student-teacher, her fellow professors disapproved of her unique method of teaching the kids: she often incorporated singing and melody in order to help with memorization. Due to the negative comments she was receiving, she quit.

Shortly thereafter, a friend helped her in joining a local theater troop. After some hard work, she earned a spot on the Canadian cast of Rent, began to do poetry readings and befriended some big names in the Philly artistic community, included Jeffrey A. Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). It was here that Scott's musical career took off.

Encouraged by Jazzy Jeff and Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (Ahmir "Questolove" Thompson) of the hip-hop group The Roots, Scott wrote several songs in only three days during the summer of 1999. One of them, entitled "You Got Me," was performed by Erykah Badu and The Roots, and won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance (Duo or Group). A few months later, after Jeff burned 100 demo CDs and marketed the soul singer, Jill Scott signed with the new label Hidden Beach. During this whole process and since then, she collaborated with Will Smith and Common, and worked on soundtracks for Down to Earth (2001), Wild Wild West (1999) and In Too Deep (1999)

Amazingly, she made 50 songs for her debut album and had a lot of trouble trimming it down. Finally, after much deliberation, "Who Is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds, Vol. I" was released in July 2000. It featured music that was youthful enough for the younger generation and soulful enough for those above 40.

Accolades came pouring in for her unique contribution to hip-hop: "Who Is Jill Scott?" was certified platinum, and she received three Grammy nominations (including one for Best New Artist), three NAACP Image rewards and one Soul Train Award for Best Female R&B Album.

Read more

Tags

5

Festival

Boz Scaggs, Jill Scott, And Lake Street Dive Are Final Three Headliners Announced For Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival

Boz Scaggs, Jill Scott, And Lake Street Dive Are Final Three Headliners Announced For Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival

Source: Dalmath Associates Inc.

Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival (XRIJF) June 22 to June 30, 2018. Guitarist and singer, Boz Scaggs, will perform on Saturday, June 23. Grammy Award-winning singer songwriter, Jill Scott, will perform on Friday, June 29. Soul pop band, Lake Street Dive, will perform on Thursday, June 28. All shows will take place at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at 10 a.m. only at rochesterjazz.com. To order by phone call (585) 454-2060. Tickets ...

277

Music Industry

R & B Singer Jill Scott Sued by Record Label

R & B Singer Jill Scott Sued by Record Label

Source: All About Jazz

R&B superstar Jill Scott was sued this morning by her longtime record label, which is accusing the multi-platinum songstress of skipping out halfway through a six-album contract and potentially owing millions of dollars in damages. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by L.A.-based Hidden Beach Records, claims that the label and its founder, Steve McKeever, helped launch Scott's career and nurtured her into a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter but was unceremoniously dumped in October after a 10-plus year relationship. Hidden ...

241

Recording

Spring LLC Releases Compilation CD Featuring Mike Phillips and Jill Scott in New Version of "Street Life"

Spring LLC Releases Compilation CD Featuring Mike Phillips and Jill Scott in New Version of "Street Life"

Source: Susan Blond, Inc.

Putting the cool back into jazz... Pop-Jazz Volume 1 Spring LLC Releases Compilation CD Featuring Mike Phillips and Jill Scott in New Version of “Street Life" September 2007 Tour Confirmed New York, NY -- Spring LLC, a New York based music company, has released Pop-Jazz Volume 1. Featuring a brand new rendition of “Street Life" by Mike Phillips and Jill Scott, the 15-track compilation contains music from current artists that epitomize the Pop-Jazz movement ...

165

Festival

Barbados Jazz Festival 2006 - Jill Scott and The Cuban All-Stars Shine Brightly!

Barbados Jazz Festival 2006 - Jill Scott and The Cuban All-Stars Shine Brightly!

Source: All About Jazz

It was sometime in November when the invitation arrived to cover the Barbados Jazz Festival 2006 for Ejazznews.com and The Jazz Report Magazine. The popular festival resides the second calendar week of January just as winter's cold dispiriting embrace takes hold. Only hours after holiday cheer subsides and turns to dread I focus on the moment I would lazily strut down the stairs of Air Canada flight 1240 onto the sun-drenched tarmac of Grantley Adams International Airport setting foot once ...

Léah Kline
vocals
Gretchen Elise
composer / conductor

Photos

Concerts

Music

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.