Chapter 6 is a professional male a cappella ensemble. Comprised of six vocalists and one arranger, Chapter 6 is the only vocal ensemble to win both The International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella (2001) and the prestigious National Harmony Sweepstakes (2004). The group features a diverse repertoire of American popular music, from Gershwin to Stevie Wonder, as well as original songs ranging from the comical Lost in Canada to the personal God's Love. In addition, clever medleys including The Wizard of Oz entertain music lovers of all ages; their signature six-minute version of the classic MGM film earned a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (2005). The book Chapter 6, Volume 1 is published by New Harmony Music. It is the first collection of Chapter 6 music to appear in print form, and it contains all the arrangements from the album Swing Shift, plus additional bonus titles.

Songlist: Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing, How Deep is Your Love, The Wizard of Oz, Ode to Krispy Kreme, I'll Take Care of You, God's Love, It's About Time, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), Pick Up the Pieces, Lost in Canada, What A Wonderful World, Jump, Jive, 'n Wail, You're Smiling Face

Thie Olivia Newton-John hit from the '70s "Let Me Be There" translates perfectly as a gospel-edged pop piece for today's choirs. There's a little hint of Elvis, too. Well-crafted choral writing combines with rhythmic drive to make your group come alive. There's a brief hand clapping a cappella section as the piece builds toward the big finish. "Build Me Up Buttercup" - Think collegiate-style a cappella with a street corner, doo-wop twist! Great individual vocal lines layer to make this a full-sounding choral from start to finish. An excellent change of pace in any concert. Scat your way to success with this inventive vocal setting of the '70s favorite "Pick Up the Pieces", a soul classic by the Average White Band. "Your Smiling Face" - A show stopper, for sure! Arranged in a collegiate, street-corner a cappella-style, with a featured Tenor solo. A fantastic change of pace. Considered to be their farewell single, the 1983 ABBA hit "Thank You For The Music" gently grooves in this contemporary a cappella setting from Kirby Shaw. A great choice for smaller ensembles or concert groups. "Without a song or a dance, what are we?"

Songlist: Build Me Up, Buttercup, Pick Up the Pieces, Let Me Be There, Your Smiling Face, Thank You For The Music

We had another chance to be thrilled by a set from Chapter 6 at the recent 2002 Harmony Sweeps National Finals (which was amazing), and these seven good-looking young men from Illinois almost won it all! They actually won 3rd Place, but were a close second in the voting for audience favorite to Champion Perfect Gentlemen. An impressive live set: "Istanbul," "Overjoyed," the hilarious country song "Fat Lady," "I Wrote This Song," "Change In My Life," a very funny "cover" of Rockapella's "Folgers" ad, an equally funny ode to "Krispy Kreme" donuts, written while the group waited to perform at the Chicago Harmony Sweeps Regional, the beautiful "Come Unto Me" and "And They Praised God" (reminding us that we do list Chapter 6 under "Contemporary Christian"), the swing classic "Jump, Jive & Wail," "The Rootbeer Song," Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (which wowed the crowd at the HS Finals), and closing with AWB's "Pick Up the Pieces." This CD captures Chapter 6's brilliant sense of humor, great stage presence, top-drawer vocal abilities and winning arrangements. Watch out for this group at next year's Finals - very possibly walking off with the whole enchilada!

Songlist: Istanbul, Overjoyed, Fat Lady, I Wrote This Song, Change In My Life, Folger's, Krispy Kream, Come Unto Me, And They Praised God, Jump Jive 'n Wail, Bohemian Rhapsody, Pick Up The Pieces

Orlando, Florida's (yes, you saw them at Disney World) favorite all-male Contemporary quartet brings us their fourth, and long-awaited, excellent collection of well-chosen, wonderfully-arranged and performed covers. "Play that Funky Music," "Green Eyed Lady," "Reminiscing" (with some unexpected scat singing), Stevie Wonder's "I Wish," "Pick Up The Pieces," "Fly Away," "Drift Away," the Gershwins' "They Can't Take That Away from Me," Chicago's "Saturday in the Park"... have fairly standard leads, but it's the cool stuff going on behind them that is Return2Zero's forte. Solid vocal percussion of course, but we also hear vocal bass, horns, unexpected tossed-in samples, scat, funny asides, silly noises and doo-woppy side-dishes of harmony all create a rich, tasty vocal stew that spells, well, entertainment. And in terms of pure entertainment, Return2Zero ranks with the best a cappella groups in the world. By the way, I feel the need to throw a few kudos in Walt's direction here-beginning with top-drawer Barbershop groups like the Dapper Dans on Main St., USA and progressing to stellar Doo-Wop groups like the Alley Cats, Contemporary groups like Toxic Audio and Return2Zero, and Choral groups like Derric Johnson's ReGeneration - you've turned a lot of people on to a cappella, bud. Thanks!

Songlist: Play That Funky Music, Green-eyed Lady, Reminscing, This Masquerade, I Wish, Pick Up The Pieces, Harlem Nocturne, Fly Away, Drift Away, Only Yesterday, Smiling Face, They Can't Take That Away From Me, Saturday In The Park

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

Renowned director Gene Aitken is considered one of the most exciting and energetic educators and clinicians today, and his Jazz Studies Program at the University of Northern Colorado has received a Grammy nomination and more Down Beat magazine awards and National Endowment for the Arts grants than any other institution. The 3-man, 2-women Axidentals perform with a very hot 5-piece jazz ensemble, but they also have several fine a cappella cuts on "Hot XI," including Rodgers & Hart's "My Heart Stood Still," Mark Murphy's "Gone," "It Don't Mean a Thing," and Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday." All woman jazz quartet Sus 4 also perform "Invitation" and "Love for Sale" with 5-piece jazz accompaniment. Two man, 3 woman a cappella jazz ensemble Et Cetera's "Paradise," "Old Man River" and a cover of the Average White Band's "Pick Up The Pieces" are other favorites. An excellent collection from some of the best Collegiate jazz groups in the country!

Songlist: Somethin's Coming, My Heart Stood Still, Gone, Lazy River, Signed, Sealed, Delivered, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), Yatra Ta, Teach Me Tonight, Come Sunday, Night and Day, Invitation, Love for Sale, Paradise, Old Man River, Pick Up the Pieces

We feel like we know these 7 personable young men from the Chicago area very well. 3-time winners of the Chicago Harmony Sweeps Regional beginning in 2000, they have been onstage regularly at the National Finals, finally winning the whole enchilada in 2004. The liner notes for "In Concert" are about as minimal as they can be-some nice small stills from the DVD on the front, and then a listing of the songs on the back. This seemed curious until we realized that the DVD is aimed at people who have seen Chapter 6 in concert or heard one of their 4 excellent CDs, people like us. We don't need breathless prose to convince us about how wonderful the group is, we know that-let's just get this packaging open, and-cool, there's 2 DVDs, one with 17 hits, and the other with behind the scenes footage. It's all here, Stevie's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing," Freddie's "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Theme and Variations on It Don't Mean A Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing" (which won Best Arrangement in 2004), "Ode to Krispy Kreme" and the hilarious, brilliant 5-minute "Wizard of Oz" that absolutely won them the Finals and drew them another standing O at the A Cappella Summit that year. Great stuff all the way through, and we have to say, stardom couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys!

Songlist: It's About Time, Don't Worry 'Bout A Thing, What A Wondeful World, Pick Up The Pieces, Bohemian Rhapsody, Ode To Krispy Kreme, And They Praised God, And I Raised Cod, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), God's Love, The 7th Wheel, How Deep Is Your Love, Lost In Canada, Sweet, Sweet Spirit, Wizard Of Oz, The Rootbeer Song