“Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with the Lord in your heart”
Ephesians 5:19
If you wanted a hint of heaven, even the beaches at Malibu paled in comparison to the sounds delivered by the Gospel Hall of Fame group Take 6 at Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre. Not many groups declare that their music is to “spread the love of Jesus Christ”, but that’s what the a cappella sextet accomplished as they used their voices to miraculously blend together to create a tapestry of sound that rivaled any creation stitched by Raphael during their 90 minute delivery of songs from the heart and soul. Just like the living body of Christ, each member of the band has gifts and sounds to contribute to create the melding of celestial sounds.
First tenors Claude McKnight and Joel Kibble preached from the pulpit as they lead through uplifting material such as “Come On” and “Spread Love” while Alvin Chea used his bass like a Marcus Miller thumb tapping. Old time spirituals such as “Wade In The Water” with Kristian Dentley’s baritone and Dave Thomas’ second tenor brought tidings of comfort and joy while a calypso’d read of “Fly Away” mixed preaching of the word with the band shifting vocals gears from velvety cloths to mechanical hip hop grooves at the drop of a syllable.
The team put the “soul” back into soul music as they doo wopped a tribute to Ben E King with a street corner symphony of “Stand By Me” and showed their jazz chops with some richly creative vocal mixtures as they waxed and waned in dynamics on “The Windmills Of Your Mind” their voices creating sounds like a muted trumpet section in Dizzy Gillespie’s orchestra.
The team produced a song called “When Angels Cry” from their latest album which had a message that was both timely and eternal. After the angelic recitative of “Shall We Gather,” the band donned a few instruments and with piano, keyboards, percussion and guitars the band slid into an attractive smooth jazz on “U Turn” while the team stomped on Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands.”
Closing with a glowlingly genteel and pastoral “Alleluia” the six singing pilgrims affirmed the closing words of the book of Psalms, as in this theatre by the sea, they “let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Even well-heeled Southern Californians could bend the knee this Saturday night; they just need the right messengers!
The 2016-17 season at Pepperdine is to be announced after Memorial Day, so stay tuned