The Mahalia Jackson Theater Welcome Take 6

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The MAHALIA JACKSON THEATER Welcomes TAKE 6 
A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16^TH at 8PM

New Orleans, November 1, 2011-The multi-GRAMMY Award and Dove Award winning a cappella jazz group known as Take 6 are not only the heirs to the rich tradition of the doo-wop and gospel groups of the 1950s, but also the leaders in the second wave of jazz and pop vocal groups that emerged in the 1990s.

Take 6 members include Alvin Chea, Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Khristian Dentley, Joey Kibble, and David Thomas. This powerful group will grace the stage at Mahalia Jackson Theater bringing a long awaited jazz and gospel Christmas performance on Friday, December 16^th at 8pm.

Tickets ($39.75, $34.75, & $24.75) go on sale Thursday, November 3^rd 11AM. Charge tickets by phone at 800.745.3000, order online at http://www.ticketmaster.com/, or purchase in person at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Mahalia Jackson Theater Box Office. All tickets subject to applicable service charges and fees.

The Take 6 story began at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1980, when freshman Claude V. McKnight III formed a quartet known as the Gentlemen's Estate Club. When tenor Mark Kibble heard the group rehearsing in - of all places - a campus restroom, he joined in the harmonies and performed onstage with the group that same night. Mervyn Warren joined shortly after, and the group briefly took the name of Alliance. They performed in local churches and on campus for the next few years. After college, the group signed with the Warner Brothers label in 1987 and changed their name to Take 6.

Their self-titled debut album, released the following year, scored two GRAMMY Awards and landed in the top ten on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian charts. The group's swinging, harmony-rich gospel sound attracted a flurry of attention, and the group went on to record or perform with numerous jazz luminaries, including Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder. The 1990 follow-up album, So Much 2 Say, was equally successful, climbing to the number 2 spot on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart and scoring a GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. Warren left the group a year later to pursue a career as a producer. He was replaced by Joey Kibble, Mark's younger brother.

The group added instrumentation to their purely a cappella sound beginning with the 1991 holiday release, He Is Christmas. The album scored yet another GRAMMY, this time for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. A string of finely crafted recordings continued throughout the remainder of the decade: Join the Band (1994), Brothers (1996), So Cool (1998) and a second holiday album, We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1999). Join the Band and Brothers were both GRAMMY winners.

In 2000, Take 6 released a live recording and a best-of collection, followed by Beautiful World in 2002. The group left Warner Brothers after Beautiful World and launched their own Take 6 label. Their maiden voyage in the new venture was Feels Good, released in 2006. Take 6 joined Heads Up International with the release of The Standard in August 2008. The album includes guest appearances by R&B luminaries Aaron Neville and Brian McKnight (Claude's brother), as well as veteran jazzmen George Benson, Al Jarreau and Jon Hendricks. "While we sing lyrics that always exemplify our spiritual and moral convictions, what we really are at the core is a jazz vocal group," says Dave Thomas, a member of the Take 6 lineup since 1985.

Take 6 released their third Christmas album of holiday favorites and classic Christmas standards titled, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Teaming again with Heads Up Records, in 2010, Take 6 released their third Christmas album of holiday favorites and classic Christmas standards titled, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The album climbed to the top 40 spot on Billboard's U.S. Jazz charts.

Take 6 continues to tour around the world delivering amazing performances, and igniting fans with their first instrument...their voices!

Connect directly with Take 6 at http://twitter.com/#!/take6official and http://www.facebook.com/take6 .
For current artist news and tour schedule, go to http://take6.com/ .
For venue information, visit http://www.mahaliajacksontheater.com/.

For more information on Take 6, please contact:

Kym Atkins • Nicole Robinson

katkins@majesticempire.com • nrobinson@acetheatregroup.com

# # #