# Take 6
**Take 6** is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 at Oakwood College in [Huntsville, Alabama](https://www.edgepedia.org/huntsville-alabama), known for merging close-harmony gospel singing with complex jazz voicings, R&B rhythms, and pop arrangements. The group, heralded by [Quincy Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/quincy-jones) as the "baddest vocal cats on the planet!", is described on its own site as the most awarded a cappella group in history, with 10 [Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-awards), 10 Dove Awards, 2 NAACP Image Awards, and a Soul Train Award[1](https://take6.com/bio/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980, Oakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama, as The Gentlemen's Estates Quartet[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/) |
| Original name | Alliance; renamed Take 6 in 1987 after signing to Reprise/Warner Bros. Nashville, because another group was already using the name[1](https://take6.com/bio/) |
| Debut | Self-titled album, 1988, on Warner Alliance; won two Grammy Awards and reached the Top Ten of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian charts[1](https://take6.com/bio/) |
| Members (long-standing lineup) | Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea, and Khristian Dentley[1](https://take6.com/bio/) |
| Awards | 10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards, a Soul Train Award, 2 NAACP Image Awards, Gospel Music Hall of Fame induction; Grammy.com's own artist page lists 8 wins and 19 nominations[1](https://take6.com/bio/) • [3](https://www.grammy.com/artists/take-6/13130/) |
| Recent albums | Believe (2016), which landed on six Billboard charts simultaneously, and ICONIC (April 2018), the group's sixteenth album[1](https://take6.com/bio/) |
## Origins at Oakwood College
The group began in 1980 when Claude McKnight, then a freshman at Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Huntsville, Alabama, formed an a cappella quartet called The Gentlemen's Estates Quartet[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/). The founding story is part of the group's legend: while the quartet rehearsed in a campus bathroom, Mark Kibble walked by, heard them singing, added a fifth part, and joined them onstage that same night[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/). Mervyn Warren joined soon afterward, making it a sextet, and the group performed under the name Alliance[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/).
Membership stabilized in 1985, when Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, and David Thomas joined as the lower three voices (bass, baritone, and second tenor)[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/). When Warren left in 1991 to pursue a producing career, Joey Kibble, Mark Kibble's younger brother, took his place[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/). Khristian Dentley later replaced Cedric Dent, in 2011[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/take-6-mn0000155563/biography).
## Name and debut
When the group signed to [Reprise Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/reprise-records)/Warner Bros. Nashville in 1987, a name search showed that "Alliance" was already in use, so the members held a vote and adopted Take 6. McKnight explained the choice: "It pretty much was a play on the Take 5 jazz standard and the fact that there are six of us in the group, so it became Take 6."[1](https://take6.com/bio/)
The self-titled debut album, released in 1988, was recorded entirely without instruments and was critically acclaimed, capturing Grammy Awards in both the jazz and gospel categories[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/take-6-mw0000195355). AllMusic notes that of the album's ten songs, six came from the public domain, two were group collaborations, and two came from outside writers; Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, and Mervyn Warren produced the record[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/take-6-mw0000195355). The Los Angeles Philharmonic's artist page describes the debut as a million-plus seller whose "thick beds of head-spinning vocal arrangements" were, in its words, "literally never heard before"[6](https://www.laphil.com/people/take-6). The record's success, the group's own biographical material argues, helped touch off the wave of R&B vocal groups that followed, with [Boyz II Men](https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-ii-men) among those citing Take 6 as a major influence[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/).
## Style and faith
Take 6's sound rests on black gospel quartet singing, which member Cedric Dent, a University of Maryland Ph.D. in music theory, described as the group's root: "Classic, black gospel quartet singing is really what Take 6 grew out of when we started back in the mid-'80s"[6](https://www.laphil.com/people/take-6). Onto that foundation the group layers jazz chord voicings similar to big-band arrangements, doo-wop, '60s soul, R&B, and pop[6](https://www.laphil.com/people/take-6).
Several features of the group's working method set it apart. A 1989 *Christianity Today* profile reported that the intricate rhythmic shifts and complex vocal arrangements are not written down, despite all six members reading music proficiently; instead they are learned by rote, including vocal emulation of band instruments and finger snaps[7](https://www.christianitytoday.com/1989/07/arts-take-6-takes-off/). Bass singer Alvin Chea supplies walking bass lines and percussive effects, while the remaining five voices carry harmony and melody[8](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/27291/1/Martinle_leetdpitt2016_2.pdf). Because the ensemble is a cappella, the singers provide lead, rhythm, and percussion with their voices alone[9](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/harmony-that-is-close-to-heaven-94426.html).
The members are devout Seventh-day Adventists, and their faith shapes both the lyrics and the group's self-understanding; an early profile in *TIME* described the young men as "as much in the business of preaching as entertaining"[10](https://time.com/archive/6702123/religion-evangelism-and-all-that-jazz/). Mark Kibble, the group's spokesman and lead arranger, put it this way in 2003: "We always bring the same level of God through our music in any form we choose to sing in."[9](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/harmony-that-is-close-to-heaven-94426.html)
## From pure a cappella to instrumentation
For its first three albums the group sang purely a cappella. With the fourth album, *Join the Band* (1994), Take 6 added instrumental backing, working with musicians including [Herbie Hancock](https://www.edgepedia.org/herbie-hancock), Greg Phillinganes, Gerald Albright, and Kirk Whalum; *The Washington Post* judged that the group had "navigated the tricky transition from a cappella to band arrangements with admirable good taste"[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1994/06/26/return-of-the-gospel-truth/487b6658-028d-47ad-860c-55bf0e554d6a/). Guest appearances on that record included [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder) and [Ray Charles](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-charles)[12](https://www.allmusic.com/album/join-the-band-mw0000625177).
The a cappella core has remained the group's mainstay, and later albums have moved back and forth across the line. *So Cool* (1998) returned the group to its a cappella origins[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/). *Beautiful World*, co-produced with bassist [Marcus Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/marcus-miller), paired the vocal textures with instrumental accompaniment, with Cedric Dent explaining that producers often struggle to balance the group's large vocal sound with a band[6](https://www.laphil.com/people/take-6). *The Standard* (2008), the group's debut on Heads Up International, was a collection of mostly jazz and R&B standards, including "Straighten Up and Fly Right," "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," "Someone To Watch Over Me," and "What's Going On," with guests such as [Aaron Neville](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-neville), Al Jarreau, George Benson, and [Roy Hargrove](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-hargrove); on that record David Thomas stated, "what we really are at the core is a jazz vocal group"[13](https://concord.com/concord-albums/the-standard/).
## Awards and recognition
The group's own biography credits it with 10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards, 2 [NAACP Image Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/naacp-image-awards), and a Soul Train Award, along with induction into the [Gospel Music Hall of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/gospel-music-hall-of-fame)[1](https://take6.com/bio/). The Recording Academy's artist page lists 8 wins from 19 nominations, including Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for *Brothers* (1998) and, with Stevie Wonder, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Love's in Need of Love Today" (2003); the two counts differ, with the group's site and publicity materials using the 10-Grammy figure[1](https://take6.com/bio/) • [3](https://www.grammy.com/artists/take-6/13130/). *Join the Band* won the 1994 Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album[1](https://take6.com/bio/).
Take 6 topped *Downbeat* magazine's readers' and critics' polls for seven consecutive years[2](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/). The group has performed for four sitting U.S. Presidents, appeared on *Saturday Night Live*, the Oscars, and the Grammys, and was chosen as the first musical group to perform in Cuba at the normalization of relations between the two countries[14](https://take6.com/take-6-signs-to-sono-recording-group/) • [1](https://take6.com/bio/). The Library of Congress lists Take 6 among the prominent names in the contemporary gospel field[15](https://www.loc.gov/collections/songs-of-america/articles-and-essays/musical-styles/ritual-and-worship/african-american-gospel/).
## Recent work
In 2015 Take 6 signed with SoNo Recording Group and delivered *Believe* in 2016, which landed on six [Billboard charts](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-charts) simultaneously[14](https://take6.com/take-6-signs-to-sono-recording-group/) • [1](https://take6.com/bio/). The group's sixteenth album, *ICONIC* (SRG/Universal, April 2018), collected songs the members had long loved performing, from a cover of [Justin Timberlake](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-timberlake)'s "Can't Stop the Feeling" to Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why" and the hymn "Nothing But the Blood"; its first single, a version of Eric Clapton's "Change the World," was the most-added tune in smooth jazz upon release[1](https://take6.com/bio/). In 2017 the group toured 46 cities with The Manhattan Transfer on "THE SUMMIT: The Manhattan Transfer Meets Take 6," and the Chicago show became a PBS Soundstage special debuting in April 2018[1](https://take6.com/bio/). The group continues to tour internationally, including a November 2026 date in Boulogne-Billancourt, France[16](https://www.ticketmaster.com/take-6-tickets/artist/733622?tt_scene=anchor_view).
## References
1. [Take 6 Biography, Take6.com official website](https://take6.com/bio/)
2. [TAKE 6 ACAPELLA, Official Independent News Center for Seventh Day Adventist Music Ministry](https://vovministry.wordpress.com/take-6/)
3. [Take 6 Grammy Awards and Nominations, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/take-6/13130/)
4. [Take 6 Biography by Richard S. Ginell, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/take-6-mn0000155563/biography)
5. [Take 6: Take 6 Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/take-6-mw0000195355)
6. [Take 6, LA Phil artist page](https://www.laphil.com/people/take-6)
7. [Take 6 Takes Off, Christianity Today, July 14, 1989](https://www.christianitytoday.com/1989/07/arts-take-6-takes-off/)
8. [Vocal jazz group arranging thesis, University of Pittsburgh (2016)](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/27291/1/Martinle_leetdpitt2016_2.pdf)
9. [Harmony that is close to heaven, The Independent, July 1, 2003](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/harmony-that-is-close-to-heaven-94426.html)
10. [Religion: Evangelism And All That Jazz, TIME](https://time.com/archive/6702123/religion-evangelism-and-all-that-jazz/)
11. [Return of the Gospel Truth, The Washington Post, June 26, 1994](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1994/06/26/return-of-the-gospel-truth/487b6658-028d-47ad-860c-55bf0e554d6a/)
12. [Take 6: Join the Band Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/join-the-band-mw0000625177)
13. [The Standard by Take 6, Concord Label Group](https://concord.com/concord-albums/the-standard/)
14. [Take 6 signs to SoNo Recording Group, Take6.com](https://take6.com/take-6-signs-to-sono-recording-group/)
15. [African American Gospel, Library of Congress, Songs of America](https://www.loc.gov/collections/songs-of-america/articles-and-essays/musical-styles/ritual-and-worship/african-american-gospel/)
16. [Take 6 Tickets, Ticketmaster](https://www.ticketmaster.com/take-6-tickets/artist/733622?tt_scene=anchor_view)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Choirs and vocal groups › Gospel, barbershop, and popular vocal groups › Contemporary a cappella groups*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license