Take 6

a cappella

The six young Christian gentlemen in Take 6 have spent so many years singing together, they sound like one instrument. Complex chords are rendered swooningly smooth. Take 6's first recording won them a "best jazz vocal" Grammy, a rare feat for a self-identified religious group. The key to their success is a blend of secular with sacred. Their latest Grammy nomination (number 18) is for the strictly secular Ultimate Mancini (Concord). Collaborations with artists as diverse as Rodney Crowell and the Modern Jazz Quartet get the Take 6 sound to folks who would ordinarily avoid a religious group. Their vocal version of the X Games theme, which is way more extreme than any instrumental, broke down a few barriers, too.

Sat., Dec. 18, 8 p.m., $22-$49, Zellerbach Theater, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-6701, www.pennpresents.org.

—Mary Armstrong

—Respond to this article in our Forums—click to jump there