The Standard

Performer: Take 6
Artist: George Benson; Jon Hendricks; Al Jarreau; Till Bronner; Shelea Frazier; Roy Hargrove; Ella Fitzgerald; Aaron Neville; Brian McKnight
Producer: Joey Kibble; Mark Kibble
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Take 6: Claude McKnight, David Thomas , Joey Kibble, Mark Kibble, Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent. Audio Mixer: Marcelo Pennell. Long-running Christian vocal group Take 6 has at heart always been a jazz vocal outfit in the style of the Manhattan Transfer or Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. THE STANDARD, however, is the group's first album composed solely of jazz standards given the Take 6 treatment. The results are, as one would expect, sublime: the close harmonies and thrilling solos are exquisite throughout, as is the well-chosen song selection. Guests include Al Jarreau, George Benson, R&B singer Brian McKnight (the brother of group mainstay Claude V. McKnight III), and one of their key influences, Jon Hendricks. There are two ways to interpret the title of the famed multiple Grammy- and Dove Award-winning vocal group's debut on Heads Up Records. First and most obviously, it's a reference to the way they have been setting high bars in the jazz and gospel worlds for 20 years, scoring as many Grammys as Doves (ten) with their beautiful and snazzy vocal textures. Then of course there's the wonderful choice of classic jazz material, ranging from their whistle and fingersnappin' approach to "Sweet Georgia Brown" to Nat King Cole's exuberant suggestion to "Straighen Up and Fly Right" and Ella Fitzgerald's "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," featuring her own charming vocals from a session done in 1938! In taking a traditional jazz approach to some of the Great American Songbook's foundational treasures, the sextet ensemble has had so many guest artists they could temporarily be dubbed Take 7, 8, or 9. Besides bringing back Ella, they've got George Benson's snappy lead vocals and crisp guitar lines on the Cole song; the vocal zigzags of Al Jarreau and lyricist Jon Hendricks on Hendricks' classic "Seven Steps to Heaven" (which also features the cool flugelhorn of Till Br�nner); and a wistful Aaron Neville on the geographically appropriate "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" Group member Claude McKnight's famous vocalist brother Brian McKnight gets in on the grooving gospel of "What's Going On?" Beyond the all-stars, Take 6 also discovers some new talent with Shelea Frazier, who wrings every ounce of emotion out of a touching "Someone to Watch Over Me" with the help of Roy Hargrove. "Shall We Gather at the River" and the Quincy Jones/Jeremy Lubbock wordless seduction "Grace," remind us of Take 6's gospel roots, and a witty twist on the Sesame Street standard "Bein' Green" makes it suddenly cool and environmentally proper to be that color. The track features colorful new lyrics by the family of the song's composer, the late Joe Raposo. True to the album's title, Take 6 sets a new standard of creativity on their latest disc. ~ Jonathan Widran

Mojo (Publisher) (p.1113) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Take 6 deliver a straight jazz and R&B album, accepting aid from a number of notable guests."

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