It was a quick jump for these 3 men and 3 women from Los Angeles from the founding of their Vocal Jazz group in 1999 to realizing their dream of appearing in the Harmony Sweepstakes competition. Sixth Wave won the 2001 L.A. Harmony Sweeps Regionals, and then they found themselves on the stage of the National Finals in San Rafael, where they performed an incredible set and were named Harmony Sweeps National Champions! A pair of excellent CDs followed, "Sixth Wave" and "It Will Come to You," and now we hold their long-awaited third album, "Happy Madness" in our hot little hands. Fourteen songs, and it's not easy to pick favorites. We'll start with the title tune, the New-York-jazzy "This Happy Madness," a bubbly, crazy, romantic delight; the surprising, joyful "Verlieben, Verlieren," sung in perfect German, a pair of nice original by group member Jennifer Barnes, "Life's Too Good to Sing the Blues" and the surprising, brilliant "Meet Us (Intro);" James Taylor's sublime "Another Grey Morning;" the moody "Kindred Souls (Cerebral Thoughts)," with lyrics by Jennifer, a scattish arrangement of "This Joint is Jumpin';" a pair of originals by group member Greg Jasperse, "Voice Dance IV" and "Oh How Beautiful This Finely Woven Earth;" and a wonderfully arranged cover of Stevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothin'." "Happy Madness" is a joyous little jazz masterpiece from one of our favorite mixed-voice Vocal Jazz sextets!

Songlist: Headlock, Life's Too Good To Sing The Blues, Another Grey Morning, West Point, This Happy Madness, Verlieben Verlieren, Meet Us (intro), Love Will Keep Us Together, Nessun Dorma, This Joint Is Jumpin', Kindred Souls (Cerebral Thoughts), VoiceDance IV, You Haven't Done Nothin', Oh How Beautiful This Finely Woven Earth

The talented three men and three women from Los Angeles who call themselves Sixth Wave first got together in 1999 with the worthy goal of singing in the National Harmony Sweepstakes. To their surprise and our delight, they won the 2001 Finals, and they accomplished their second goal of recording their first excellent CD that same year. Appearing with the luminaries of the a cappella world, The Bobs, Rockapella, Swingle Singers, m-pact and The Perfect Gentlemen, they went to work on "It Will Come to You," their second CD, containing collaborations with Gabriel Mann, Joe Bob Finetti and Michelle Weir, as well as their first three original tunes, Gerald White's "You'll Always Remember the Song," Cindy Bourquin and Gerald's title tune, and a jazz tune by their friend Kent Carlson, "She's Been Around The Block." We have to say right off that "It Will Come" is the best jazz CD we have heard in a long time. From a stellar arrangement of Sting's "Fragile," a sweet cover of the manic jazz chestnut "Twisted," and absolutely nailing Aerosmith's rock anthem "Dream On," to incredibly arranged covers of "Strange Magic," Santana's "Oye Como Va" and a "William Tell Overture" cover that would make not only the Swingles but Rossini himself look over his shoulder, this CD is unbelievably good. The jazz classic "Jeannine," with vocal percussion by Joe Bob, totally soars, and an "Earth, Wind and Fire Medley" that incongruously includes Lennon/McCartney's "Got To Get You Into My Life," with the EWF disco hits "September," "After The Love Is Gone" and "Sing A Song," has to be heard to be believed. We loved Sixth Wave at the finals, and we love this CD!!

Songlist: It Will Come To You, Fragile, Twisted, Dream On, Oye Como Va, Strange Music, William Tell Overture, She's Been Around The Block, You Are There, Jeannine, Eart, Wind and Fire Medley, You'll Always Remember The Song

OK, so they didn't spend big bucks on the cover art. The bottom line is, Sixth Wave is great! First a sweet cover of the 5th Dimension's "Grazin' in the Grass." Listen to the scat singing on "Gimme That Wine," and you'll wonder why we didn't classify SW under Jazz (we're still on the fence on that one). Then we're treated to the soaring melodies of "Icarus," our favorite cut. Oingo Boingo's "Stay" will have you boogying to the rock-solid vocal percussion. Then a moody, Vox-One-ish "Vincent" features a stellar lead by soprano Cindy Bourquin. Boogie time again with "Pick Up the Pieces," with guest vocal percussionist vitamin g, and great scat by baritone Gary Rosen. 4 Beatles tunes: A jazzy "Blackbird" flies circles around everyone else who ever recorded the song. You'll see "Baby You Can Drive My Car," "Tell Me Why" and "Yesterday" in a whole new light. We loved "Cloudburst," the final tune. Not surprisingly they won the LA regional, and you can see them at the Finals May 5th. Fresh, surprising-you'll love this CD!

Songlist: Grazin' in the Grass, Gimme That Wine, IcarusGary Rosen, StayElin Carlson, Vincent, Pick Up the Pieces, Taki Rari, Blackbird, You Can't Use My Car, Tell Me Why, Yesterday, Cloudburst