Take 6

 

Venue:Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club, Frith Street, London.

Date: Thursday 12th July Ticket Prices: £50.00 - £75.00 

Doors open time First House 17:30 Second House 21:30

While vocal groups surge in popularity, GRAMMY award-winning super group TAKE 6 continues to set the standard for a cappella groups of this generation. The TAKE 6 story began at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1980, when freshman Claude V. McKnight III formed a quartet known as the Gentlemen's Estate Club. When tenor Mark Kibble heard the group rehearsing in - of all places - a campus restroom, he joined in the harmonies and performed onstage with the group that same night.Mervyn Warren joined shortly after, and the group briefly took the name of Alliance. They performed in local churches and on campus for the next few years, with personnel changing frequently as older members graduated and new voices arrived on campus to replace them.After college, the group signed with the Warner Brothers label in 1987 and changed their name to TAKE 6. Their self-titled debut album, released the following year, scored two GRAMMY Awards and landed in the top ten on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian charts.The group's swinging, harmony-rich gospel sound attracted a flurry of attention, and the group went on to record or perform with numerous jazz luminaries, including Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder.The 1990 followup album, So Much 2 Say, was equally successful, climbing to the number 2 spot on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart and scoring a GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. Warren left the group a year later to pursue a career as a producer. He was replaced by Joey Kibble, Mark's younger brother.The group added instrumentation to their purely a cappella sound beginning with the 1991 holiday release, He Is Christmas. The album scored yet another GRAMMY, this time for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. A string of finely crafted recordings continued throughout the remainder ofthe decade: Join the Band (1994), Brothers (1996), So Cool (1998) and a second holiday album, We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1999). Join the Band and Brothers were both GRAMMY winners.In 2000, TAKE 6 released a live recording  and a best-of collection, followed by Beautiful World in 2002. The group left Warner Brothers after Beautiful World and launched their own TAKE 6 label. Their maiden voyage in the new venture was Feels Good, released in 2006.TAKE 6 joined Heads Up Records with the release of The Standard in August 2008. The album includes guest appearances by R&B luminaries Aaron Neville and Brian McKnight (Claude's brother), as well as veteran jazzmen George Benson, Al Jarreau and Jon Hendricks. "While we sing lyrics that always exemplify our spiritual and moral convictions, what we really are at the core is a jazz vocal group," says Dave Thomas, a member of the Take 6 lineup since 1985. The Standard garnered three GRAMMY nominations in 2009 for Best Gospel Performance, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.In 2010, teaming again with Heads Up, TAKE 6 released a third Christmas album featuring holiday favorites and classic Christmas standards titled, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The album climbed to the top 40 spot on Billboard's U.S. Jazz charts.To date, TAKE 6 has won 10 GRAMMY Awards, 10 Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award, received two NAACP Image Award nominations, and holds the distinct honor of being the most GRAMMY nominated vocal group in history.May, 2011, two years before the 25th anniversary of TAKE 6's first commercial release, Cedric Dent announced his departure as a principal member of the group. "It has been perhaps one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my adult life," Cedric shared with fans.While Dr. Dent no longer tours with TAKE 6, he continues to work with the group behind the scenes contributing musical arrangements and offering assistance when needed. Cedric's decreased role allows him to pursue other creative endeavors, including further composing and arranging, music research, teaching, consulting, writing books, and spending time with his family. As a member of the faculty at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Dent takes a leading role raising funds for the TAKE 6 Vocal Jazz Scholarship program, further contributing to the TAKE 6 legacy.Multi-talented music producer, musician, and baritone, Khristian Dentley, replaces Dr. Dent on the road and in the day-to-day operations. Dentley has filled in for Cedric off and on since 2004, developing a strong rapport within the group, as well as TAKE 6 audiences throughout the world!