Jill Scott

Between the first two songs of her album-previewing "Buzz" concert Friday at the Theater of Living Arts, Jill Scott caught fans up on what she's done in the three years since she last toured. She got a cat, the Philadelphia singer, songwriter and poet told the worshipful capacity crowd. She painted her house - and as if to prove her handiness, she later dropped a choice couplet about how she can "stain in polyurethane. " And the place erupted when, in the introduction to a new song titled "Whatever," she talked about getting married and the virtues of monogamy.

Can Jill Scott bring home a Grammy to Philadelphia two years in a row? Last year, this talented young artist shared a songwriting win with the Roots. This year, she's up for an amazing three Grammys for her stellar debut album blending urban soul, hip-hop and jazz, "Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1. " Scott will compete in the best R&B album category against another hometown crew, Boyz II Men (with "Nathan/Michael/Shawn/Wanya") and also the D'Angelo project "Voodoo," which featured studio production by local guys James Poyser and the Roots' ?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week to singer-songwriter-poet-actor and hometown honey Jill Scott, who does it all at 40 Wednesday. North Philly's favorite daughter has represented our fair city so well for so long, we wouldn't know where to start in running down her accomplishments. Suffice it to say, if this gorgeously laid-back diva sings, says or tweets it, we wanna be there. In her stars? No stopping her now. More music, more writing, more mothering and definitely more love to give.

Brooklyn, N.Y.-born soul singer Maxwell returns to town in a great double bill with Philly's own Jill Scott . Maxwell, whose 2009 album "BLACKsummers'night" marked his first release in almost a decade, has been enjoying some incredible success after such a long break. The album not only debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and was Maxwell's fourth platinum album, it also netted the singer R&B Album of the Year and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance awards at the Grammys. Meanwhile, co-headliner Scott has been prepping her fourth studio album, "The Light of the Sun," slated for release sometime this summer.

Jill Scott is off to a fresh start. "My music is a lot more free," says the North Philadelphia-raised R&B singer, actress, and poetess, speaking about the changes she's gone through, artistically and personally, in the years leading up to her new album, The Light of the Sun , which entered the Billboard album chart in the top spot when it was released on her own Blues Babe label last month. Since the release of her previous album, The Real Thing: Words & Sounds Vol. 3 , the 39-year-old Scott - who will headline the Jill Scott Summer Block Party at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden on Aug. 6 along with Anthony Hamilton, Mint Condition, and Doug E. Fresh - has had her world upended.

Let this be a lesson to all: The sniffles, if left untreated, can turn into a major problem. Just ask Philly R&B singer Jill Scott, who was released from Temple University Hospital yesterday after being treated for a lung infection that began as an itty-bitty cold. The illness has forced Scott, 28, to miss the first few dates as the opening act on Sting's tour, said Karen Taylor, the crooner's spokeswoman. The singer, recently named one of People mag's Most Beautiful People, was scheduled to perform Saturday at the kickoff of Sting's North American tour at Washington, D.C.'s MCI Center, as well as tonight in Greensboro, N.C. Taylor said the Grammy nominee is resting at home, and it hasn't been determined when Scott will head back to performing.

On stage at the Fillmore at the TLA, Jill Scott beams beneath an Afro that billows like a halo around her head. For the singer, spoken-word poet, and actress, this year has been a creative whirlwind. She recorded her deeply personal and impressively soulful third album, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3, in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Miami. She toured behind the album in the United States and Europe. And the newly divorced North Philadelphia native traveled to Atlanta and Africa for extended film shoots.

Just like the hundreds of students gathered in the Ira Aldridge Theater on the Howard University campus to hear her read from her new book of poetry, Jill Scott sets goals. "I have a checklist," the platinum-selling recording artist reveals to her adoring audience. "First, I wanted to be Storm from the X-Men, but that didn't work out. I wanted to be a ballet dancer, but that didn't work out, either. I wanted to be in a Broadway play. I checked that off. I wanted to win a Grammy.

Jill Scott is saying goodbye to the Chocolate Pagoda at Buddakan. She has admitted defeat: She couldn't get close to finishing the dense, three-layer temple. As the plate is cleared, she offers a rhapsody of respect and admiration. "How I have loved you," she sings, surging into an operatic flourish. Then comes a bit of scat in her forlorn jazz-diva voice, next a brief girlfriend-who-won't-take-no-mess. It's a performance, sure. Right down to the flickering of those mischievous eyes.

In the midst of "He Loves Me (Lyzel in E flat)," the Grammy-winning North Philadelphia mezzo-soprano Jill Scott began offering a wordless, arialike improvisation Saturday night. Her posture, already fine, improved to impeccable. Her facial expression became more serious, and her hands spread out and moved in a regal manner as her diaphragm controlled each enunciated note. Scott is obviously a talented singer, and although she can't (yet) be considered an operatic diva, it was a delicious moment in her show at the Tower Theater.

THE FIRST NIGHT Mike Dennis went to the Black Lily performing-arts series at the Five Spot, he saw a 13-year-old girl take the stage, start her set with a snippet of a gospel song and, with the crowd behind her, proceed to blow the roof off the now-defunct Old City club. Her name was Jazmine Sullivan, and she would later have a No. 1 hit with "Need U Bad. " Dennis and his partner, Daryl Debrest, continued to chronicle Black Lily, a weekly performance series that ran from 2000 to 2005 and was geared toward letting women have the mic. Black Lily flourished at a time when the music industry turned its eye to Philly to find the next big thing in neo-soul, a genre that gave rise to Jill Scott, Lady Alma and Jaguar Wright.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week to singer-songwriter-poet-actor and hometown honey Jill Scott, who does it all at 40 Wednesday. North Philly's favorite daughter has represented our fair city so well for so long, we wouldn't know where to start in running down her accomplishments. Suffice it to say, if this gorgeously laid-back diva sings, says or tweets it, we wanna be there. In her stars? No stopping her now. More music, more writing, more mothering and definitely more love to give.

After a tumultuous 2011 in which they opened a new Center City coffee-and-music venue amid a nasty labor dispute, no one would have faulted rising entertainment entrepreneurs Jamie Lokoff and Tommy Joyner for taking it easy in the new year. But that's not how they roll at MilkBoy, a blend of java- and music-brewed business ventures that seeks to reinvent itself in 2012. Joyner and Lokoff are focusing on Center City after a decade running a recording studio and their now well-known coffee house in Ardmore (and a smaller one in Bryn Mawr)

The Roots and the War on Drugs landed in the main Top Ten, so they're not included here, on a list of five standout local releases. This year, the scene also saw notable albums from Danielson, Hoots & Hellmouth, Work Drugs, and Marsha Ambrosius. Kurt Vile , Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador). The hirsute Philadelphia rocker first made a national splash with his 2009 debut, Childish Prodigy , on the storied Matador label. Vile didn't really live up to his promise until this formidable production, however, which kicks up a bruising maelstrom worthy of Dinosaur Jr. or Neil Young when it wishes.

Jill Scott is off to a fresh start. "My music is a lot more free," says the North Philadelphia-raised R&B singer, actress, and poetess, speaking about the changes she's gone through, artistically and personally, in the years leading up to her new album, The Light of the Sun , which entered the Billboard album chart in the top spot when it was released on her own Blues Babe label last month. Since the release of her previous album, The Real Thing: Words & Sounds Vol. 3 , the 39-year-old Scott - who will headline the Jill Scott Summer Block Party at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden on Aug. 6 along with Anthony Hamilton, Mint Condition, and Doug E. Fresh - has had her world upended.

Phila. Orchestra cellist accepts post in Seattle From Peter Dobrin's "ArtsWatch," at www.philly.com/artswatch Efe Baltacigil, associate principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, has accepted the principal cellist spot with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. He starts this fall with the opening of the 2011–2012 season. Officially, Baltacigil, 32, is taking a leave of absence from Philadelphia for 2011-12, giving him the option of returning the following season.

Her career has taken her from Broad and Lehigh to Botswana. Still, Jill Scott isn't known as "Jilly from Philly" for nothing. When she's back in town, the soulful singer-songwriter makes a point to support local businesses, organizations and kids every chance she gets. Here, some of her hometown faves: Hair The Grammy winner's signature curls are naturally perfected by Syreeta Scott (no relation), stylist and owner of East Falls' holistic-chic Duafe Salon. 3502 Scotts Lane, Suite 29, 267-297-7636, dua-fe.com.

JILL SCOTT'S former students - creatively awakened to "Macbeth" by her notion of singing Willie the Shake to doo-wop tunes - might not agree. But the rest of the world owes a big thanks to the grumpy principal at Dobbins High School who so dispirited Scott as an English-teacher trainee, telling her she'd soon "get over" her idealism, that the young woman quit the gig to start working full time at even more creative endeavors. Clearly, things have turned out well for the singer/poet/actress and community philanthropist (see sidebar)

I've got to say, every time I gaze up at that Julius Erving mural at 12th and Ridge, it takes my breath away. Of all the 2,000 wallscapes done by the Mural Arts Program, Dr. J may be my favorite. And if you asked neighborhood residents, they'd probably agree. Whether you like the art or not, you have to give Mural Arts credit. The staff always seeks input from the community before artists paint a single stroke on a neighborhood wall. After all, if residents are going to cherish their surroundings, they've got to see the value in it first.

D IEGO RAMOS returns to radio today on Wired 96.5, where he'll reunite with his former broadcasting partner Chio . He'll spend at least a week on the "Chio and Shila in the Morning" show, says Chio, but it's exected to become a permanent job. Chio says he and Diego, who was his sidekick at Q102 for nearly 10 years, have been hoping to work together again since 2006. "I love Philly and I'm excited to be back on the radio," Diego said yesterday. He's also happy to reunite with Joey B , Chio's producer, with whom he also worked at Q. Since being let go from Q in 2009, Diego opened Diego's Bar (2676 Bridge)