Take 6 | The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Take 6 | The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
By Peggy Oliver
If there is anybody who could jump start the holiday season with high class, Take 6 would win hands down. This sextet continues to bring their brand of a cappella stylized gospel to the forefront since they bowed on the national scene in 1987. Their humble beginnings were etched on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama in 1980 as a quartet under the moniker Alliance. But there was that somethin’ somethin’ in the air which expanded the roster to a fifth member – Mark Kibble – who then invited Mervyn Warren to come on board to solidify as a sextet. Even when originating members graduated from Oakwood, three more quickly filled the gaps. After changing their name to Take 6, the recording sky was the limit. Though the sextet ran into some resistance from the gospel music recording executives for being too-forward thinking, Warner Brothers finally stepped up to the plate starting with the group’s self-titled debut. The sextet’s longevity spoke volumes in the ever pressure-packed industry with only one personnel change after their sophomore release (Mark’s brother Joey Kibble replacing Warren).
Take 6’s abilities molding the traditions of spirituals, doo-wop and jazz has memorized audiences since their emphatic anthem, “Spread Love.” Their harmonic complexity compares to a sophisticated jazz orchestra, not a total shock considering McKnight III, the Kibbles, Cedric Dent, Alvin Chea and David Thomas were all experienced instrumentalists. And their unequivocal arrangements expand many horizons from heavenly choirs to mind-boggling swinging vocal exchanges. As Take 6 hit their stride into the next decade, they brought in more fellow jazz musicians like The Yellowjackets (starting with their third disc and first Christmas release in 1991 – He is Christmas) and experimented with a smooth R&B format in the mid-nineties, which met with more mixed results (Join The Band and Brothers). Eventually Take 6 returned to their first love – a cappella – for 1998’s So Cool. The millennium continued bringing the classic songbook with an inspirational slant (Beautiful World), another mostly a cappella experience (Feels Good) and time-tested standards (appropriately entitled The Standard).
Nowon their third holiday offering, Take 6 presents pure a cappella (with one exception) and Christmas standards of all shapes with The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. And truthfully, there are no clinkers here because of their intuitive arrangements (mostly from Mark Kibble). “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”and “I Saw Three Ships” reel with soulful gospel joy. “White Christmas” spices the festivities thanks to its Afro-Cuban percussive sway. Though their vocal swagger is deadly serious, Take 6’s sense of humor can not be denied as wanna’ be bass singer McKnight III and true bass man Alvin Chea playfully battle it out on “You’re A Mean One, Mr.Grinch” from How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Ballet music is completely turned upside down on “The Sugarplum Dance(Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy).” In cool-like-that be-bop form, the guys steadily climb the vocal ladder topped off with Joey Kibble’s sweet‘trumpet’ solo. Then the guys turn to a supporting role for featured vocalist Shelea Frazier (who appeared on The Standard) in a touching soul/jazz rendition of the Charlie Brown Christmas classic, “Christmas Time is Here.”
The art cover work for The Most Wonderful Time of the Year might look hokey. But do not let this factor sway you from enjoying Take 6’s holiday present of a cappella ecstasy, even if it only clocks in at just over thirty minutes.
Peggy Oliver
The Urban Music Scene