By Michael P Coleman
Take 6 has been around for over 30 years, having exploded onto the music scene in 1988 with their eponymous, double Grammy winning debut album. The ensemble was no less combustible last Saturday night for the last of a three night, six show run in Napa.
In fact, the cozy Blue Note could barely contain their voices. As they wrapped up their first show of the evening, coffee shop customers across the street incredulously asked “Who is singing over there tonight?”
The group performed several songs from their latest project, Iconic, which features covers of hits by the likes of LTD, Christopher Cross, Earth Wind & Fire, Eric Clapton, and The Spinners. All of those artists should be eternally grateful that Take 6 didn’t get to those songs first.
I’ll confess, having been around for Take 6’s debut, that I used to think that there was at least a little in-studio slight-of-hand with their vocals. After all, could a group really sound that good, singing primarily a cappella material?
After seeing — after hearing — them live, I’ll never wonder about that again. At one point during the show, I turned my head away from the artists while they were performing and stared incredulously at a discarded guitar sitting on the edge of the stage, cast aside by a half dozen vocal titans who simply didn’t need it to keep the groove going.
Take 6’s sophomore release was the equally impressive So Much 2 Say. After over three decades, they still seem to have quite a lot to say, and I, along with their millions of fans around the world, couldn’t be happier to hear it.
Information on Take 6 is at take6.com.
Information on upcoming shows at the Blue Note is at BlueNoteNapa.com
Freelance writer Michael P Coleman is available at michaelpcoleman.com and on Twitter: @ColemanMichaelP.
