Jill Scott
Barrowland, Glasgow
Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Volume 1 - available now
by Jo Harvie
The Barras, more used to sweaty rock, was treated to some sweet soul music last week as the stunning Jill Scott took to the stage.
She's been a backing singer and a beat poet, but her solo career has seen huge success over the last couple of years, including three Grammy award nominations.
Jill Scott is the owner of one of the most beautiful voices since the invention of soul, and certainly the best that I've ever heard live.
You might have heard her backing vocals on Will Smith's Willenium album, which sprung from a long term collaboration with Jazzy Jeff.
But her own material - which you'll find on her debut album, Who is Jill Scott? - is infinitely better than that middle of the road pish and does her voice justice.
Only one of her singles has snuck into the charts here - Getting in the Way, a Philadelphia soul warning from a "mature woman" (to quote Jill herself) to another woman to get her claws out of her man. And Jill Scott is certainly all woman.
She sashayed onto the stage at the Barras, telling the audience she had just stepped off the bus, managing to make a pair of leggings and a jumper look fantastically sexy. And then she started singing.
From soul to hip hop to jazz, with a bit of operatic showing off for good measure, she sounded amazing.
Belting out her moving lyrics about women, love and life in front of a brilliant live band (special mention for the bongos man), she had the Barras jumping.
Some of the jazz bits strayed into a bit too much freestyling for my taste, but the sheer power and emotion of Jill's voice was always enough to get me back involved when my mind wandered.
On the night before Valentine's day, there were loads of snogging couples, but even if you were there on your own you couldn't have felt bad. Jill's got enough love for everyone.
The highlight for me was her rendition of You Got Me, a song about trust and equality in a relationship that she wrote for The Roots and Erikah Badou.
It's simply one of the most gorgeous bits of music ever created.
All in all, it was a great gig, and if you missed it you can get a hold of Experience Jill Scott, her live album. It's pricey at around £18, but I promise you, it's worth it.
Jill Scott gave her Glasgow audience a great night, and when she returned for her encore (a 15 minute version of the delightful He Loves Me) after thunderous applause, she told us:
"Glasgow knows how to make a sister feel good."
A fair exchange, then.