CHART-TOPPING GOSPEL SEXTET TAKE 6 TO PERFORM THEIR LATEST HITS IN
OREGON SYMPHONY SPECIAL EVENTS CONCERT
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Portland, Ore. … Take 6, the multiple Grammy Award-winning gospel group that paved the way for an explosion of R&B vocal groups in the '90s, will perform songs from their new album, "Beautiful World," at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Saturday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m. This concert is presented by the Oregon Symphony in a non-orchestra Special Events concert sponsored by Diamonds by Passerini. Known for their distinctive, harmony-rich gospel songs infused with the sounds of jazz, R&B and doo-wop, Take 6 is both a throwback to an earlier era of American music and a precursor for a number of black male pop groups of the '90s including Boyz II Men. Since 1988, Take 6 has earned a total of seven Grammy Awards including two for their self-titled debut album for Best Soul Gospel Performance and Best Jazz Vocal Performance. The members of Take 6 are Alvin Chea, bass; Cedric Dent, baritone; Joey Kibble, second tenor; Mark Kibble, first tenor; Claude V. McKnight III, first tenor; and David Thomas, second tenor.

The program will include the group's latest hits, which explore the combination of their rich vocal textures with instrumental accompaniment. "A cappella has always been the mainstay of this group," Dent said in a recent GospelCity.com interview, "but we all play instruments as well. In our new show we do all vocals as well as instrumental accompaniment, which takes the Take 6 live experience to a whole new level of performance."

Comprised of uplifting classic songs from the annals of gospel, pop, rock and R&B, "Beautiful World" reprises hits like the Doobie Brothers' "Takin' It To The Streets," "People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions and Bill Wither's "Lovely Day." According to Dent, "We wanted to do nothing but songs that had been big and enduring hits, but that also had messages of hope and encouragement, whether spiritual or with that message clearly implied."

Ticket range from $19 to $57 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays (from September through May) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster On-line, via the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.

Take 6

From its modest beginnings as an a cappella gospel group to its current status as multiple Grammy Award winners, Take 6 has redefined the standards for vocal music. The vocal group craze currently sweeping the R&B world was touched off in part by the revelatory emergence of Take 6 in 1988.

In 1980, Claude McKnight formed an a cappella quartet, The Gentlemen's Estate Quartet, at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, where he was a freshman. The Gentlemen were rehearsing in a campus bathroom, when Mark Kibble walked by and heard them singing. He joined the harmonizing, adding a fifth part, and ended up singing with them onstage that night. Mark later invited Mervyn Warren to join the group, and the sound of Take 6 was born. Although the sonic structure was now firmly in place, the name was not; the group performed as "Alliance."

The group performed in local churches and on campus over the next years, with alternating members. In 1985, the lower half of the group (bass, baritone and second tenor) left upon graduating. At that time, Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent and David Thomas joined.

The group was signed to Warner Brothers, Nashville, in 1987, and quickly changed its name to Take 6 after a name search revealed that "Alliance" was already being used. In 1991, after the group had released their acclaimed eponymous debut, Mervyn Warren left the group to pursue a career as a producer, and Joey Kibble, Mark's younger brother, was invited to round out the vocal lineup.

The members of Take 6 are now Alvin Chea, bass; Cedric Dent, baritone; Joey Kibble, second tenor; Mark Kibble, first tenor; Claude V. McKnight III, first tenor; and David Thomas, second tenor.