You’d hardly call it an auspicious beginning: four freshman college students rehearsing quartet music amid the porcelain, chrome, and live acoustics of a dormitory restroom at Oakwood College, a small Seventh-day Adventist school in Huntsville, Alabama. A sudden flush ushers in a new dimension as Mark Kibble steps from a stall to add a fifth part to the harmony, and the evening’s performance is sung by a quintet rather than a quartet. Later the lineup is extended to a sextet, and Take 6, then known as Alliance, is born.
Nine years later, the a cappella jazz/gospel group, with its sacred lyrics married to complex voicings of jazz chord structures, is being touted as a “vocal phenomenon.” They cart off Grammy Awards and Dove Awards, honoring their unique vocal styling, and they pick up unsolicited endorsements from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, and Beach Boy Brian Wilson. They share the stage with Stevie Wonder, tour with Al Jarreau, sing backup for Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, and Joe Sample. Bill Cosby writes them into an episode of the “Cosby Show,” Domino’s Pizza and Levi’s jeans enlist their voices to sell products, Candice Bergen’s “Murphy Brown” opens with their vocal gymnastics.
Two-Level Wonder
But Take 6 is really a phenomenon on two levels. While people are certainly talking about the sextet’s musical excellence and unique approach to vocal music, they are also talking about their no-compromise stand for their faith.
• Critic’s choice. The intricate rhythmic shifts and complex vocal arrangements (with chord structures similar to big-band voicings) are not written down, even though all six guys read music proficiently. Instead, they are learned by rote—melody, harmony, a little doo-wop, vocal emulation of band instruments, and, of course, the ubiquitous finger snaps. Yet even such involved productions come off sounding smooth and spontaneous.
One reviewer described their vocal prowess like this: “Full-toned falsettos rocket above the purring tenors, which in turn are anchored by moving bass voices.” Says another: “You’ll hear perfectly in-tune glissandos, shakes, and ornaments; great dynamic control and tempo changes … a wealth of textures and styles, with sparkles of humor thrown in, to perk up the weariest ears.”
Although it’s true that some critics lack discerning ears and may praise most anything, accolades such as these are not isolated. Quincy Jones, producer of Michael Jackson’s multimillion-selling albums, pretty much speaks for the entire music industry when he refers to Take 6 as “gifted” and “spiritually centered.” “I haven’t heard singing like this since the days of the Hi-Los,” he says. (Others make comparison to Manhattan Transfer, the Nylons, or even the King’s Singers.) Or, as Jones has more succinctly expressed it, “Simply put, they’re bad.” Meaning, of course, good.
• Strong foundation. Anyone who understands the dynamics of pride knows that unbridled praise can be precarious. Second tenor David Thomas has expressed the dilemma Take 6 now faces: “With Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones behind us, we’re working extra hard just to keep our egos on the ground.” So, how do they handle the sudden surge of popularity? Isn’t there an inevitable temptation to pride?
“I think that the spiritual groundwork was laid early on, before we were thrust into the limelight,” tenor Mark Kibble suggests. “The long weekends that we spent together in rehearsal, constant prayer, and devotions has carried over into what we do now. We are still the same people; we haven’t changed. Keeping God in the forefront keeps things in perspective.”
“Keeping God in the forefront …” I paraphrase a Take 6 quote I ran across, something bass Alvin Chea said. The gist was: “We don’t talk at people, we just relate what Christ has done for us. We try to do what we call the silent sermon. We live what we preach.”
Tenor Mervyn Warren stresses that, for him, this ministry involves far more than “just singing a song to somebody.” He speaks of the responsibility he feels to let people see the kind of life he leads. “The questions frequently come later on, after we’ve spent time with someone. They will come back and say, ‘What is it about you that’s different?’ Or, ‘How are you able to handle your life like that?’ And that’s when we have the opportunity to sit down and say, ‘Well, it’s because of our relationship with the Lord.’ ”
A Stable Faith
When asked, “Where did the members of Take 6 get their sense of conviction?” they invariably point to the strength of their families’ practice of their faith.
Baritone Cedric Dent refers to his family’s observance of morning and evening family worship, “which,” he wants to stress, “is a compliment to my parents. That has probably been the most stabilizing thing in my life.” Mervyn speaks highly of the rest and reflection that has come to him through observance of the Sabbath. “Even now, as an adult in the work world, it has become crucial for me to have a day set aside to forget about other things and concentrate on the Lord.” Mark points to his grandmother’s godly influence. “Every morning before I would go to school she would read me a devotion. Even when I didn’t want to hear it. I never strayed very far from what my grandmother taught me.” Tenor Claude McKnight refers to Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” He alludes to his own rebelliousness and God’s persistence. His conclusion could well speak for the whole group:
“The Lord knew what he wanted me to do. He just had to have me go through some things and then slap it on me. That’s why I’m very humbled by all of this. To get a big head by anything that Take 6 could do would be very foolish.”
Cedric agrees. For him, the acceptance Take 6 has enjoyed is not something about which to be proud, but about which to be obedient. “The Lord has opened doors for us to perform to a larger sector of people and not confine ourselves to just a church audience. I often think of Jonah, unwilling to go to Nineveh, because it was so wicked. But that was exactly where God wanted him to go. I use that example just to say that Take 6 is being open-minded to go wherever the Lord will send us.”
The opportunities have certainly opened up for the group. Their well-publicized convictions have sparked curiosity. Why aren’t they singing secular music? Why don’t they drink? Why do they avoid certain amusements? “People seem to appreciate our convictions,” Mark says. “They appreciate the fact that we are living clean lives and showing them a better way. Someone came up to me and said that he was inspired to clean up his life, to stop taking so many drugs. We may never see a lot of the people whose lives have been changed, but it’s not our responsibility to see that. It’s only our responsibility to be used.”
By James Long, senior editor of CAMPUS LIFE magazine.
ARTBRIEFS
CAN Do
For Karen Mulder and Phillip Griffith, networking is another word for fellowship—especially in encouraging often-alienated Christian artists. Founders of Christians in the Arts Networking (CAN), Mulder and Griffith tell Christian artists they are not alone and their work can have an impact on society.
CAN’s 2,100 members in 28 countries can find out who is doing what kind of work, and where, by contacting CAN in Massachusetts. “We want to promote communications among Christians in the arts as well as create a bridge between the church and the arts community,” Griffith told CT. “We want people to think about the biblical standards for an artist’s life and work.”
Griffith got the idea for CAN in 1983 from reading about Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of bones. “I began to feel that the artists were like the dry bones—separated from one another and the church, but God was bringing them back together to take their place in the church and the army of God.”
Mulder and Griffith spend much of their time globetrotting in search of interesting bones. Last year, a dance conference in Australia, a cultural exchange trip in China, and lectures in a half-dozen U.S. cities crammed CAN’s agenda, and Mulder put together a slide show to use in CAN’s networking forays. “Alone at night with this tremendous wealth of creativity before me,” she recalls, “I was often in tears for the diversity, brilliance, excellence, and simplicity of Truth well expressed.”
Not bad for a valley of bones.
On the Road with the Jesus People
During the sixties’ turmoil of 20 years ago, a new breed of young Christians emerged called “Jesus people.” Maturing physically and spiritually, they established communities in various parts of the country, with ongoing ministries to the poor and disadvantaged.
Now Jesus People U.S.A. (JPUSA), the Chicago-based community, has produced a docudrama video tracing the early years of the national movement up to the present. Many Are Called but Few Can Stand It follows a group of Jesus people traveling across the U.S., bringing their enthusiastic witness to an institutional church they perceive as dead.
Written and directed by Mike Hertenstein, the 90-minute video was shot over the course of a year using a cast composed mostly of JPUSA members. It is JPUSA’s first foray into drama; earlier videos have centered on music, and on Rez Band in particular. The video is scheduled for release later this summer and will be distributed through JPUSA’s Cornerstone magazine and Christian bookstores.
Dancing to a Different Drummer
If actions speak louder than words, which actions speak loudest? If you’re” like many people, ballet doesn’t leap to mind. But for the Asaph Ensemble, classical dance and music do the job well.
Part of the Virginia-based Christian Performing Artists’ Fellowship, Asaph strives to bring the gospel to a relatively overlooked group: secular performing artists. Anyone who has seen A Chorus Line will know what they are up against. Through choreographed versions of works such as Mozart’s Requiem (performed last May in Washington’s Kennedy Center), ballerinas, opera soloists, and professional orchestra musicians join forces to reach out to secular people who (they hope) populate the audience. Admission is free. If the good news isn’t clear enough via the topnotch performance, the conductor spells the message out, invitation and all.
“We are not professional theologians,” executive director Patrick Kavanaugh said in a Washington Times interview; “Christ has given us a job to do.” Part of that job is for dancers with names such as Reluctance, Reserve, and Exuberant to tell of the trial of faith through thought-provoking choreography. Robert Strum, director of dance, has shaped the group’s act to the music of Stravinsky; in December, Asaph will perform Handel’s Messiah.
“The Old Testament exhorts us to dance unto the Lord,” one performer says. “When God says to dance, I have to do it.”
By Dan Coran and Carol R. Thiessen.