Search - Various Artists :: Take 6

Pure genius, pure joy

Earl Hazell | New York | 06/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was an undergrad college musician studying jazz composition with the immortal saxophonist and arranger Jimmy Heath, when he took time out of the class to play something, as he had promised (because he said we "need to hear this") and put this CD on.We all sat in the class, smiling... until we heard the first thirty seconds of the first tune.We then sat dumbfounded and silent, with our mouths hanging open, for the rest of the recording.Ten years later my feelings about them haven't changed. Pointing out my favorites on this particular CD is almost pointless; you have to hear and own all of the renditions of this seminal jazz recording. It is guaranteed to astound you with Take 6's virtuosity and flawless arrangements, and the sheer joy you hear and feel uncontrollably with every uptempo tune. The entire thing is done A capella, seemingly revealing the potential of a century or more of ensemble choral tradition from barber shop to the best of Manhattan Transfer, as it takes any and every expression of such, it seems, to heretofore unknown levels of artistic purity. And still they managed to be so fun that on some tunes you just want to laugh at loud! The ballad "There is a Quiet Place' may have tears welling up in your eyes.Beautiful."

The Best

M. Fields | Brooklyn, New York USA | 06/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So here's how I first got aquainted with Take Six. I turned the radio on as I always did, years ago, to fall asleep. The disc jockey said, "you've got to hear this group. They're amazing", or something to that effect. As the album started to play I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I sat straight up in bed and my ears clung to every note. The next day I went racing around town to find the album but to no avail. It was sold out everywhere. I finally got hold of it and played it to death. I taped it for my dad (a musician) and he took a copy to his brother (also a musician). They went racing to the record store (I wasn't giving them my album) down on Park row in Manhattan. The poor clerk said that people had been asking for it all day long and the shelves were empty. Then he said, "you guys are musicians aren't you?" and they said yes. He let out a big heavy sigh, went into the storage area and came back with albums. After that my dad and his brother called all of there musician friends and had a listening party for that album. They claimed they didn't want any women around chatting and laughing while they were trying to listen. I couldn't even get in and I was the one who brought it to their attention! Oh well.



This album is the best of all the Take Six offerings. It's so hard to find good acapella music and even harder to find it in a gospel form. This album is a classic now. I wouldn't give it away for all the tea in London. All the tunes are original compositions written by the group members themselves. Their harmonies are rich and lush but the lyrics come through clearly which is important especially when singing gospel music. I think I would call this work innovative. If you like acapella music you'll love this disc. I'm very sad to say that the group seems to have lost their focus as the later albums became less and less quality.



Don't lose hope though. There is another group called Chanticleer who also sing mostly acapella music. They are however, somewhat higher on the evolutionary scale, so to speak. Their body of work is much broader and more sophisticated. Give them a listen."