The Summit: The Manhattan Transfer and Take 6 Set for MPAC, 4/8

The Manhattan Transfer and Take 6 -- two of the most acclaimed, award-winning vocal groups in pop music -- create an unforgettable concert event at Mayo Performing Arts Center on Friday, April 8, 2016 at 8 PM. Tickets are $39 - $89.

Between them, the two groups boast a remarkable 20 Grammy Awards, and a range of styles that covers nearly every genre of popular music; from jazz to swing, gospel to R&B.

The Manhattan Transfer has remained an important part of musical history for over forty years. The legendary quartet has won 10 Grammy Awards of 20 nominations, has been inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and continues to wow audiences with live performances throughout the country and the world. The Manhattan Transfer is comprised of Cheryl Bentyne, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Trist Curless, who recently stepped into the shoes of the group's founder, Tim Hauser, after his recent passing. With worldwide record sales in the millions, the extraordinary group topped the charts consistently for decades with their melodic and jazz infused vocals that bring audiences back year after year and that span generations.

The group was founded by Tim Hauser when he was paying his bills by driving a New York City cab and aspiring to form a harmony vocal quartet that could authentically embrace varied musical styles, and still create something wholly unique in the field of American popular song. While driving, he met the first members of the legendary group -- Laurel Massé and Janis Siegel. Alan Paul, who was appearing in the Broadway cast of "Grease" at the time, was recommended as the additional male voice and the four became The Manhattan Transfer on October 1, 1972. Cheryl Bentyne joined The Manhattan Transfer in 1979, replacing Laurel.

In 1974 the group began performing regularly throughout New York City at Trude Heller's, Mercer Arts Center, Max's Kansas City, Club 82, and other cabaret venues. By the end of the year they were the number one live attraction in New York City. They were signed to Atlantic Records and released their selftitled debut album in 1975. The second single, a remake of the gospel classic "Operator," gave the group their first national hit. The band was soon tapped to helm a weekly hour-long summer replacement comedyvariety show, which premiered on CBS on August 10, 1975.

Their next two albums, Coming Out and Pastiche, brought them a string of Top 10 hits in Europe and produced a #1 smash in Britain and France with "Chanson d'Amour". The current incarnation of the quartet had its first album in 1979, Extensions, which earned them another smash with "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone." The vocal remake of the classic "Birdland" became recognized as the group's anthem, and earned them their first two Grammy Awards, for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental and Best Arrangement for Voices. In 1981, they became the first group ever to win Grammy Awards in both Pop and Jazz categories in the same year - Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Boy From New York City," and Best Jazz Performance, Duo or Group for "Until I Met You (Corner Pocket)". That was followed by "Route 66." The next two years, the group won consecutive Grammy Awards in the Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group. The 12 Grammy nominations they received for Vocalese in 1985 made it the single greatest Grammy nominated album in one year to date, and cemented the group's status as one of the most important and innovative vocal groups in the history of popular music. The band's next studio album, the ground breaking "Brasil", won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Their Grammy wins continued into the '90s. In 2008, An Acapella Christmas became a top selling record and they expanded their catalog to include recorded children's music and different genres of swing music. The group has also recorded with an impressive roster of artists - Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Smokey Robinson, Laura Nyro, Phil Collins, B.B. King, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, and Frankie Valli and their music has been featured in numerous TV shows and films.
With worldwide sales in the millions, awards by the dozen, and sold-out world tours, The Manhattan Transfer continue to record and tour, with many more surprises to come.

Take 6 (Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley), heralded by Quincy Jones as the "baddest vocal cats on the planet!', is the quintessential a cappela group and model for vocal genius. Six virtuosic voices united in crystal clear harmony, against a backdrop of syncopated rhythms, innovative arrangements, and funky grooves that bubble into an intoxicating brew of gospel, jazz, R&B, and pop. With praise from such luminaries as Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald and Whitney Houston, the multi-platinum selling sextet has toured across the globe, collaborated across genres, and is recognized as the pre-eminent a capella group in the world.

With the popularity of televised vocal competitions such as the explosive a cappella show The Sing Off and the mania over singing driven comedy-dramas like Glee and Smash, Take 6 is the original torchbearer. Two major recent events reminded everyone of this as Take 6 triumphed among a gathering of stars including Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Nicks, and Ne-Yo. At Walmart's 50th Anniversary celebration, Take 6 captivated the audience with their rendition of the Louis Armstrong hit, What A Wonderful World. Showing the global reach of this phenomenal group, Take 6 closed the show with Ladysmith Black Mambazo to a standing ovation! Two weeks later at the behest of legendary Producer Phil Ramone, Take 6 thrilled a sold out audience at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards performing with and honoring legendary singer-songwriter Ben E. King on his classic "Stand By Me." As a group that knows no musical bounds, they then brought the house down with their tribute to folk icon Woody Guthrie with This Land Is Your Land.

Take 6 has come a long way from their days at Huntsville, Alabama's Oakwood College where McKnight formed the group as The Gentleman's Estate Quartet in 1980. The group eventually became known as Alliance but when they signed to Reprise Records in 1987 they found that there was another group with the same name, so they became Take 6. Their self-titled debut CD won over jazz and pop critics and they've never slowed down.

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