Take 6


Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received Grammy Awards as well as Dove Awards, a Soul Train Award and nominations for the NAACP Image Award. The band has worked with Ray Charles, Nnenna Freelon, Gordon Goodwin, Don Henley, Whitney Houston, Al Jarreau, Quincy Jones, k.d. lang, Queen Latifah, The Manhattan Transfer, Brian McKnight, Luis Miguel, Marcus Miller, Joe Sample, Ben Tankard, CeCe Winans, and Stevie Wonder. All original members grew up in the Seventh-day Adventist church.

Biography

Oakwood College years

In 1980, Claude McKnight, older brother of R&B musician Brian McKnight, formed an a cappella quartet, The Gentlemen's Estates Quartet, at Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama, where he was a freshman. He auditioned students for the group. While rehearsing in a campus bathroom to prepare for a performance, Mark Kibble heard them singing. He joined the harmonizing, adding a fifth part with them onstage that night. Kibble invited Mervyn Warren to join the group, which performed under the name Alliance. Alliance performed in local churches and on campus with a changing roster of members. In 1985, the lower half of the group left after graduating. Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, and David Thomas joined.

Career

The band signed a contract with Warner Alliance in 1987 and changed its name to Take 6 after a search revealed the name "Alliance" was in use. Their eponymous debut album won Grammy Awards in the gospel and jazz categories and three Dove Awards. They contributed to the film Do the Right Thing and sang on the album Back on the Block by Quincy Jones. They also appeared on Sesame Street and . The band's second album, So Much 2 Say appeared on the gospel, jazz, and R&B charts of Billboard magazine. The band then signed with Reprise. In 1991, after the release of So Much 2 Say, Mervyn Warren left the group to pursue a career as a record producer and was replaced by Joey Kibble, Mark Kibble's younger brother. The group added instrumentation to their a cappella sound on the album He Is Christmas.
In 2006 the group started the label Take 6 Records; Feels Good, the first album on their new label, was released the same year. In 2007, they recorded with Eros Ramazzotti for his album E². A year later Take 6 released The Standard, which ventured into more traditional jazz territory.
Believe, produced by Claude Villani and Ross Vannelli, charted in six categories on Billboard in its first two weeks of release. Iconic, produced and arranged by the band, was its first album to chart at No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. The first single was a cover version of "Change the World" by Eric Clapton and debuted on the Contemporary Jazz Song chart in the top 30. The second single, "Sailing", is a cover of the Christopher Cross classic.

Members

Albums

Live Albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

GMA Dove Award wins