Tenor Claude McKnight, founder of the a cappella sextet Take 6 took time to talk with this writer about his participation in the Festival of Praise Tour, a 48-city tour now in its fourth year. He and his fellow Take 6 members, consisting of arranger and tenor Mark Kibble, bass Alvin Chea, tenor Joey Kibble, baritone Khristian Dentley and tenor David Thomas, join fellow performers Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, James Fortune and Pastor Charles Jenkins at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx, N.Y., Sunday, April 29, at 6 p.m., for the show titled “Texture of a Man,” which promises to be an evening of soul-stirring music.
“I started a quartet known as Alliance when I was a freshman at Oakwood University, a Seventh Day Adventist school in Huntsville, Ala.,” said McKnight. “It became a quintet when Mark Kibble joined, and then we added an additional person making it a sextet. We eventually became Take 6. So essentially the group consists of four tenors, a baritone and a bass. All of us play instruments: keyboard, guitar, trombone, etc. But we decided we wanted our group to be primarily a cappella. The voice, after all, is the most perfect instrument there is, so that is what we wanted our group to represent. We have one of the best vocal arrangers on the planet in Mark Kibble. He uses all the elements of music in an a cappella setting, and he is able to get all the arrangements done in a way that hopefully audiences don’t miss the instruments they are used to hearing.”
The multiple Grammy, Dove, Soul Train and NAACP Image awards and nominations the group received over the years acknowledged Take 6 as the Best Jazz Vocal Group in Downbeat’s prestigious Reader’s and Critic’s Poll. Their 2016 release “Believe,” reached the top 10 for both the gospel and jazz charts, and included songs such as “Reset” and “You Make Me Happy,” as well as their inspirational song “When Angels Cry.” The group started off singing spiritual songs, and then they began writing their own material. They do R&B, jazz, pop and doo-wop.
“Our latest release ‘Iconic’ is due out April 27, 2018,” said McKnight. “We will be featuring songs like Debarge’s ‘All this Love’ on the new album. Also, the single from it is an Eric Clapton tune “Change the World.” Jeffrey Osborne’s “Back in Love” is featured, and the Earth, Wind & Fire version of the Beatles, “I Got to Get You into My Life” are all iconic songs that will be on our latest release.”
Grammy, Stellar and Dove Award-winning gospel singer, songwriter, filmmaker, multigold and platinum winner and producer Hammond joined in the conversation to talk about the Festival of Praise, “Texture of a Man 2018” concert tour that he put together. He has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, which includes 12 No.1 hits. His songs include “Are You Ready” “One More Try,” “Just to Be Close to You” and “No Weapons.” Born in San Antonio, Texas, Hammond spent most of his growing-up and adult years in Detroit, Mich. but has spent the past 12 years in Dallas, Texas
“I sang, but primarily mimicked people,” said Hammond. “My mother convinced me if I really sang, I could sound like Michael Jackson. I was shy and didn’t want to be a singer but listened to all the great Motown stars. I only wanted to play a bass or be a drummer. But one day, around 12 or 13 years old, I felt the calling to witness. Later, an opening came up with the Winans. They were putting a band together. I worked with them for three years, and then started my own group, Commissioned and just kept on evolving.”
Hammond co-wrote and directed the smash hit musical drama “Been There, Done That” with TV judge, Greg Mathis. He worked on the hit plays “Only the Strong” and the 2013 Broadway smash “Cain and Abel” with JD Lawrence. His edgy independent film, “The Choir,” depicts the real-life things that go on behind the scenes. Hammond’s last album was “Worship Journal Live,” but he is about to put out a new CD entitled “Uncle Fred.”
“The Texture of a Man,” Festival of Praise show is really a musical, explained Hammond.
He continued, “It’s a gospel, worship and praise show. We are doing everything in the show but dancing. It’s several components of praise, worship, gospel, theater, drama and film. It is a story about relationships. I think people will really enjoy it.”
For tickets to the Festival of Praise Sunday, April 29, 2018, at 6 p.m., call the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 or go online to www.LehmanCenter.org.