Heads Up Take 6

Their previous album, Feels Good, was a nice return to their roots and now the acapella singers have caught the ear of Heads Up Records boss Dave Love. Heads up, BTW, is als othe home of another acapela vocal group, South African kingpins, Ladysmith Black Mambazo

January 14, 2008, Cleveland , OH – Heads Up International, one of the world’s premier crossover jazz labels, today announced the signing of an exclusive recording agreement with the a cappella jazz group Take 6. Heirs to the rich tradition of the doo-wop and gospel groups of 1950s, and leaders in the second wave of jazz and pop vocal groups that emerged in the 1990s, Take 6 will make their Heads Up debut with a yet-to-be-titled album of jazz standards and originals scheduled for release in August 2008.

“Take 6 is arguably the greatest a cappella jazz group of all time,” says Dave Love , President of Heads Up International. “For the past twenty years, they’ve proven their vocal mastery in a variety of genres and they’ve worked with some of the biggest names in jazz and R&B. Musically and spiritually, they’ve enriched the lives of every person they’ve come in contact with. We are excited and very proud to count them among the Heads Up ranks.”

“We’re very excited as a group to be part of Heads Up,” says Take 6 co-founder Claude McKnight. “We’re very ready to move into this next phase of our career. We were with a major label for a long time, then we were on our own for a while with our own company. Now, Heads Up is helping us with all aspects of our career. We’ll be exploring not just our spiritual side, which we’ve always done, but also more of our jazz side as well.”

“When we hooked up with Dave Love , his appreciation and enthusiasm for what we do was evident from the very beginning,” says Take 6 member Dave Thomas. “We knew right away that it was going to be a great partnership. Heads Up has such an enthusiastic team that’s ready to promote the thing we do best. This is the story of two of the best coming together.”

Formed in Alabama in the early ‘80s, Take 6 launched their career by singing traditional spirituals and newly composed gospel material. They released their self-titled debut album on Warner Brothers’ Reprise label in 1988, and spent the next two decades crafting a series of records that defied easy categorization but instead embraced a broad cross-section of styles – soul, gospel, R&B, pop, jazz and more. Although they have enlisted the help of session musicians along the way, the greatest strength of their recordings has been – and continues to be – their richly layered and masterful vocal harmonies.

The group has set the bar high for their Heads Up debut, which will include guest appearances by R&B legend Aaron Neville and others. “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 Thomas. “So we’ve decided to do an album of jazz standards, and make it the vocal jazz album for all time.”

Claude McKnight stands behind the ambitious claim. “We go into every project saying it will be the best,” he says. “At least the best we’ve ever done, and depending on the concept or the genre, it may in fact be the best that’s ever been done by anyone. When we take on a project or step into a new phase of our career, we’re not afraid to say, ‘Hey, let’s move some mountains.’”