ABOUT THE ARTISTS
10 GRAMMY Awards. 10 Dove Awards. Gospel Music Hall of Famers. And more!
Take 6 (Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley), heralded by Quincy Jones as the “baddest vocal cats on the planet!” is the quintessential a cappella group and the model for vocal genius.
With 10 GRAMMY Awards, 10 Dove Awards, a Soul Train Award, and they as Members of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, this musical phenomenon has six virtuosic voices united in crystal clear harmony, against a backdrop of syncopated rhythms, innovative arrangements, and funky grooves that bubble into an intoxicating brew of gospel, jazz, R&B, and pop.
With collaborations and praise from such luminaries as Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald and Whitney Houston, the multi-platinum selling sextet has toured across the globe, collaborated across genres, and is recognized as the pre-eminent a cappella group in the world.
With their most recent recording ICONIC, TAKE 6 emerged on seven (7) Billboard Charts simultaneously and have seen their music played all over the country in various formats! In April 2022, the legendary group took to Capitol Hill for GRAMMYs On The Hill to advocate for musicians rights and work. Their upcoming recording is tentatively titled A Work of Art.
With the popularity of televised vocal competitions such as the explosive a cappella show The Sing Off and the mania over singing driven comedy-dramas like Glee and Smash, Take 6 is the original torchbearer. A recent event reminded everyone of this, as on Homeward Bound: A GRAMMY Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, Take 6 wowed a national TV audience, as well as Paul Simon himself, when they performed their arrangement of his song “Homeless.”
Take 6 has come a long way from their days at Huntsville, Alabama’s Oakwood College where McKnight formed the group as "The Gentleman’s Estate Quartet" in 1980. The group eventually became known as Alliance but when they signed to Reprise Records in 1987 they found that there was another group with the same name, so they became Take 6. Their self-titled debut CD won over jazz and pop critics and they’ve never slowed down.
What makes the music and the group last this long? The answers are direct and simple: faith, friendship, respect, and love of music. From their exceptional Christmas Show, to their innovative Symphony show, these qualities are at the heart of the Take 6 phenomenon.
GRAMMY AWARDS
2002: Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group: Love’s In Need of Love Today
1997: Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album: Brothers
1992: Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album: Handel’s Messiah- A Soulful Celebration
1996: Best Pop Contemporary Gospel Album: Tribute- The Songs of Andrae Crouch
1994: Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album: Join the Band
1991: Best Jazz Vocal: He Is Christmas
1990: Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album: So Much 2 Say
1989: Best Gospel Performance By A Duo or Group: The Savior Is Waiting
1988: Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group: Spread Love
1988: Best Soul Gospel Performance By A Duo or Group: Take 6