Feels Good (ZYX Music)
Take 6
Released March 21, 2006
Prix du Jazz Vocal de l’Académie du Jazz 2006
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l3YxhECvm7fTz733ckJTuj31upG9XyhH4
Spotify:
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About:
Being patently original, with a timeless musical artistry can only define one group- Take 6. Take 3 parts Gospel + 1 part Jazz, +1 dash of Pop +1 touch of R&B = 6 parts of soulful harmony. Take 6s new album Feels Good ingeniously blends all these genres in a delicious, spirit-soaring feast of sound.
With the release of their much-anticipated album Feels Good, Take 6 returns to their rich musical heritage bringing the listener along for one of their most uplifting, funky and inspirational joy rides to date. Feels Good makes you feel just that good. Its warm sonic tapestry weaves around the soles of your feet and up until it tickles the very baby hairs on your arms. Take 6 began crafting Feels Good a year and a half ago, yet this project represents everything that devout Take 6 fans, over the years, have come to love and expect from this multifaceted sextet. With a nod to their history, Feels Good boldly looks forward attacking Acapella in new exciting ways.
With a staggering eighteen Grammy-Award nominations, Take 6 is the most nominated Gospel, Jazz, Pop or R&B artists in Grammy history. Yet along with their solid 10 Grammy wins, 10 Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two NAACP Image Award nominations already on their mantel, Take 6 have set yet another challenge for themselves. The group has recently launched Take 6 Records, and is now capitalizing on, not only their 20 years of collective experience in the creative side of music, but also, by taking a more proactive role, in the business of music. Member Alvin Chea says, “This was a natural progression for us. Traditional record companies want to lock you into a particular category. If you are slightly askew of that, they really dont know what to do with you. We decided to take the reigns on this project and in our careers so we could position our projects in the marketplace by how we felt lead.”
In the music industry, Take 6 is so universally recognized as simply being the best, that they have virtually owned Downbeat magazines readers poll having won Favorite Jazz Vocal Group 9 consecutive years. In spite of this, Mark Kibble states, It is important for us to continually challenge ourselves musically in order to keep our music and creative spirit fresh.
Take 6 has received some of its highest praise from the music industrys icons. Mega producer and longtime collaborator Quincy Jones, has described Take 6 as “The baddest vocal cats on the planet.” In their stellar career, they have been honored to perform with numerous music legends including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, David Foster, Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, Denyce Graves, The Yellowjackets and Wynton Marsalis among a host of others. The Take 6 style has also reached todays pop culture. Their musical style and tight harmonies have influenced pop groups from Boyz II Men and Backstreet Boys to *NSYNC.
As wonderful as these honors and accolades are, Take 6 is still committed to using their music as a ministry. Claude McKnight (founding member) beams, “Im immensely proud of the fact we have had only one personnel change in the group which was founded 20 years ago. It is very much a testament to our commitment to one another and spreading the gospel through our music.”
Track Listing:
1. Come On 03:48
2. This Is Another Day 03:27
3. Feels Good (Mark Kibble) 03:51
4. Wait for the Sunshine (John Stoddart) 03:48
5. Family of Love (Cedric Dent / Joey Kibble) 03:54
6. More Than Ever (Joel Kibble) 04:03
7. Set U Free (Claude V. McKnight III) 03:33
8. Vinterlude (Alvin Chea) 00:31
9. Just in Time (Betty Comden / Adolph Green / Jule Styne) 03:46
10. Lamb of God (Twila Paris) 03:27
11. I’ll Never Turn Back No More 01:27
12. You Can Make It – Go On (Joel Kibble / Mark Kibble) 03:50
Personnel:
Claude McKnight III: vocals
Cedric Dent: vocals
David Thomas: vocals
Mark Kibble: vocals
Alvin Chea: vocals
Joey Kibble: vocals
Recorded at Vertical Sound, Nashville, TN
Executive Producer: Take 6
Produced by Mark Kibble and Cedric Dent (5)
Co-Produced by David Thomas and Cedric Dent (9, 10)
Engineer and Mixing: Marcelo Pennell
Photography: Courtney Barron
Review:
Four years after their last major-label release, inspirational a cappella group Take 6 returns with their first self-released album. Their last album for Warner Brothers, 2002’s Beautiful World, was a muddle of pop covers and mild gospel with some ill-advised forays into smooth jazz instrumental backing that sounded well out of place with the sextet’s trademark interlocking vocal parts. For Feels Good, the group get back to their roots both musically and spiritually, delivering straightforward inspirational tunes with nothing but their truly remarkable voices. Street-corner doo wop, the more sophisticated, jazzy vocal arrangements of the Ink Spots or the Four Freshmen, and the smooth R&B blend of the Four Tops or Boyz II Men are all present and accounted for, and the material is both perfectly arranged and delivered with passionate, devotional intensity. Feels Good is a welcome comeback for a group that had been unfairly marginalized during its major-label tenure.
Stewart Mason (AllMusic)
