TAKE 6 ACAPELLA.

Welcome to the Official page of Take 6 Adventist Quartet.

This award-winning Christian sextet broke new ground in a cappella in the ’80s, paving the way for the popular revival of R&B vocal groups. Their jazz harmonies, original songs and vocal pyrotechnics represent some of the best a cappella ever recorded.

Back 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. He auditioned fellow students for the hobby group. The Gentlemen were rehearsing in a campus bathroom, getting ready for a performance, 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 very 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 under the moniker “Alliance.”

The group performed in local churches and on campus over the next years, with members changing due to college’s inevitable comings and goings. 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. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1988, won them two Grammy Awards and resulted in top ten appearances on both the Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian Charts. Take 6’s swinging, harmony-rich gospel sound attracted a flurry of attention, and the group went on to record or appear with a number of luminaries, including Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder. In 1991 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 group added instrumentation to their purely a cappella sound beginning with the record “So Much To Say”; “He Is Christmas,” “Join The Band” and “Brothers” continued their streak of success, and Take 6 amassed a total of seven Grammys and eight Dove awards, as well as topping the Downbeat Magazine’s Reader’s and Critic’s poll for seven years’ consecutively!

Take 6’s 1998 release, “So Cool,” brings the group back to its a cappella origins. The group will be touring worldwide beginning in October, and will be appearing on various television entertainment programs as well as high-profile commercials (“Gatorade” with Michael Jordan, as well as others). This is the tenth anniversary of their first release, and from their modest beginnings as an a cappella gospel group to their current status as multiple Grammy Award winners, Take 6 has redefined the standards for vocal music. Indeed, the vocal group craze that’s currently sweeping the R&B world was touched off in part by the revelatory emergence of Take 6 in 1988. Hot contemporary R&B acts like “Boyz II Men” and “Coming of Age” cite Take 6 as a major influence. The group themselves, never content to rest on their substantial laurels, continues to grow and evolve; one of the members even earned his Doctorate in Music! Their talent, hard work and Christian faith has earned them their place as one of the most enduring and best-loved groups in all a cappella.

Members – Alvin Chea, bass, Cedric Dent, baritone, Joey Kibble, second tenor, Mark Kibble, first tenor, Claude V. McKnight III, first tenor, David Thomas, second tenor

Cedric Carl Dent:

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Cedric began private piano lessons at age 6, and the study of music theory at age 14. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan (B.M., Vocal Music Education, 1985), the University of Alabama (M.M., Music Theory/Arranging, 1987) and the University of Maryland (Ph.D., Music Theory, 1997). In 2004, Dr. Dent was appointed as a Geier Visiting Professor at Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, TN), and accepted a full-time position in 2005. A frequent guest lecturer, Dr. Dent has lectured at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota (2004), Winston-Salem State University (2003), the University of California, Irvine (2001), and held the Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence in the Creative Arts at Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, TN, 1999). Also in 1999, he hosted a music education series for children (grades 5-8) entitled “Music to My Ears” for National Public Television in Nashville, TN (WDCN). His research interests include the historical and harmonic development of black gospel music, and vocal jazz group arranging and performance. His doctoral dissertation traces the harmonic development of the black religious quartet singing tradition. As a baritone vocalist, arranger, and producer, Dr. Dent is a member of TAKE 6, which has released eleven recordings for Warner Brothers Records. One TAKE 6 recording has reached platinum sales (1,000,000 units sold) and three others have garnered gold. With ten Grammy awards to their credit, TAKE 6 also holds the distinct honor of being the most Grammy-nominated vocal group in history! In 1992, Dr. Dent received a Grammy award for his musical arrangement of “O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion” featuring Stevie Wonder from the CD, “Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration.” More recognition for Dr. Dent’s creative endeavors includes two Grammy award nominations, two Dove award nominations and two Contemporary A Cappella Recording award (CARA) nominations. Dr. Dent lives in Mount Juliet, Tennessee (a suburb of Nashville) with his wife Beverly, and son Cedric Carl, Jr

Joey Kibble

Kibbles moved to Nashville, where Joey entered the first grade. He spent most of his life in and around the South (Alabama, Tennessee) until he left home to finish his last two years of high school at Pine Forge Academy in Pennsylvania. After attending Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama (a Seventh-Day Adventist institution), Joey joined Take 6 and has been singing with them since. In 1997, Joey married the love of his life, Karima Trotter (of the group Virtue), who gave birth to the couple’s first child, Karly Joelle Kibble on June 23, 2005. His passion is to see lives changed for Christ. Joey feels called to a seven part ministry made known in songwriting, physical fitness, vocal discipline, speaking, writing books, marriage, and leadership. Joey  returned to school and finish his undergraduate studies at Oakwood College graduated in May 2006.

Alvin Chea

Alvin “Vinnie” Chea was born in San Francisco, California in 1967. A graduate of Oakwood College, he earned a double-major Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Communications. As a 20+ year veteran of the music industry, his singing voice has been heard on scores of movie soundtracks and music recordings. He is also a successful voice-over artist and can be heard on numerous television and radio commercials. As a founding member of 10-time Grammy® award winning “super group” Take 6, he has toured the world extensively and shares glimpses of that life in a monthly column featured on Take6.com Over their 20-year history, in addition to becoming the most nominated R&B, Gospel or Jazz vocalists in Grammy® history, Take 6 has garnered several venerated music industry honors. Having just released his first book, BassLines, (available online take6.com/basslines), Alvin has already enjoyed helping in the launch of the Take 6 Books division of Take 6 entertainment. He next plans to follow up BassLines with Mo’ BassLines (tentatively slated for released in the Summer ’08.) Alvin, the proud papa of three wonderful children – Channing, Braxton, and Alvin “Cole” – is newly re-married and living in Simi Valley, CA. Alvin is currently pursuing a Juris Doctorate in entertainment law.

Claude V. McKnight III

Claude was born on October 2, 1962 in Brooklyn, NY to Claude Jr. and Elaine. He was the first of four boys (the others being Fred, Mike, and Brian). He lived and grew up primarily in Buffalo, NY. He got his earliest musical influences in Buffalo, mostly from his grandfather (Fred Willis Sr.) who was the choir director at his church. His earliest musical memories are from going to rehearsal with his mom every Friday night. He was able to learn parts and harmonize and see how his grandfather was able to lead a group of people.He decided in the fourth grade that he would learn to play the trombone, but found it very combersome for a fourth grader! But playing the trombone enabled him to start getting his ear trained for what he would do later.

He played trombone throughout high school, and after his sophomore year his family moved to Orlando, Florida, where he continued to play and sing in the chorus. At that time one of his goals was to play in the Tonight Show band with Doc Severinson! He also played basketball in school, and upon graduation had to make the choice of going to school to play ball or to pursue music. Interestingly enough, he chose to go to Oakwood College in Huntsville, AL (where his parents also went), which was not a school known for either its instrumental program or its athletics.

One of the first things he did during his freshman year was to put together a freshman quartet, singing mostly barbershop style harmonies. The legendary story goes that Mark Kibble came into a bathroom where they were rehearsing and added a fifth part to what they were doing, and subsequently joined the group. From there, Mervyn Warren joined the group, making it a sextet. They knew they had something special from the very beginning. Over the years, people came and went from the group, but from 1985 the group has had primarily the same lineup, apart from Joey Kibble replacing Mervyn Warren in 1991. In addition to starting Take 6, he has also been involved in producing, writing, and doing voice-over work, having recently signed with ICM.

David Thomas

David was born in Brooklyn, New York to Claude and Jocelyn Thomas. David moved to Huntsville, Alabama with his family when his dad decided to accept a job with Oakwood College. He attended Oakwood Academy for grades 1-12. While attending the University of Alabama, where he was studying to become a chemical engineer, he was asked to join Alliance which soon became Take 6. David is an accomplished musician and producer/songwriter. He has produced records for many artists from Hayden to the Backstreet Boys. But his most valued accomplishment is his family. He is married to Marla Thomas, and together they have three beautiful children Moniece, Lexi, and DJ. David and Marla also raise champion Great Danes, and together they share a profound love for God.

Mark Winston Kibble

I, Mark Winston Kibble, was born on April 7, 1964, in The Bronx, NY. My early childhood was spent in Hempstead, NY, Bridgeport, CT, Boston, MA, and by 1970, Buffalo, NY where I spent most of my childhood. There I would meet Claude McKnight and his many brothers, and begin taking care of my baby brother, Joey, along with my older sister Michelle. It can be said that most of my early musical influence happened in Buffalo, where my father pastored a very musical church. But by 1976, it was on to Nashville, TN. Soon after I went away to high school at Oakwood Academy. There I met Mervyn Warren and began working with him and others on many musical projects. This would lead right up to the famous bathroom rehearsal at Oakwood College during the fall of 1980, where I would once again meet up with Claude. And the rest is history! I have always been very athletic, playing football, softball, and basketball in Buffalo and adding Ping-Pong and track by the time I reached Oakwood Academy. I still to this day love to play sports and will at any opportunity.

I have also from a very young age been into bodybuilding, and now it is my mainstay if I can do nothing else. I have always been one to work with my hands fixing, building, and tinkering with mechanics. For my 8th grade project I made a cardboard model of the “new” (and at that time, yet to be built) elementary school that I was attending. It won first place. This lead to working with family and friends who were contractors. Thus, I learned the skills of hard labor in construction. While in college, I concentrated on the electrical trade with my great-uncle Alfred who was the electrician for the school. I still love to take on projects that require this skill. The electrical trade coupled with my musical skill lead me to build a recording studio that I now own with my brother Joey. Vertical Sound Studio is where Take 6 does some of its projects and where Joey and/or I produce other projects. So now running a studio and engineering are 2 more hats that I wear.

Back in the world of music, I have produced and performed on many other projects. They include the gospel group Virtue, Donnie McClurkin, Angie Winans, CeCe Winans, Judah Generation of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Nashville, my wife Sherrie’s group, Epiphany and/or Addae, and many, many others. Often Joey and I will team up and do projects for artists like Allen & Allen and Ben Tankard. I also team up with David Thomas and work as arrangers and vocal coaches for The Backstreet Boys. From time to time I do vocal coaching on an individual basis as well. So I am a man of many hats. Even raising dogs is one of my loves. I have 2 Cockapoos that I have bred and sold puppies from. But one of the most important hats is that of being father to Chloe’ and Ryan (born in ’95 and ’97 respectively) and of course husband to my wife Sherrie. This happens to be one of my favorite jobs.
I am truly thankful for all of my jobs, hats, and loves. But without a strong love for my Savior, Jesus Christ, none of this would be possible. This love is NUMBER ONE!!!

adventistsingers@yahoo.com