A supergroup of sorts, the Keystone Trio came together when jazz veterans John Hicks (piano), George Mraz (bass), and Idris Muhammad (drums) were recruited to back Archie Shepp on a 1995 date. The trio meshed so well that they decided to record on their own, debuting as a unit in 1996 with Heart Beats. Subsequent recordings included 1997's Newklear Music: The Songs of Sonny Rollins and 1998's Solid!, the latter a quartet date with saxophonist Eric Alexander.