Versatility and a strong sense of melody have helped make Marshall Keys somewhat of an icon in his native Washington, DC. The wide audience that used to listen to his group at Takoma Station and the Ritz Club has long wondered when he would finally release an album under his own name. "The longer I waited, the greater the pressure was to make a good recording and a really strong statement". The new recording, "First Born" will be released in September of 2001. Keys attended Howard University, switching to music only after 2 years of a psychology major. He performed with the Blackbyrds, and eventually joined the band of legendary blues organist Jimmy McGriff. "I think that is when my education really began", Keys remembers. "There are some things that can only be learned on the bandstand with great players." Keys recorded the album "Countdown" with McGriff and still occasionally tours with his band. Keys's performing credits also include gigs with jazz luminaries Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Steve Allen, Jimmy Witherspoon, Big Joe Turner, Sonny Stitt and Branford Marsalis as well as recordings with Cyrus Chestnut, Vinny Valentino, Gary Thomas, Dave Valentin and jazz fusion artists John Stoddart, Keith Killgo, Marcus Johnson, Kirk Whalum, Dan Reynolds, and Paul Jackson Jr. He has received a National Endowment For The Arts grant and a commission by the Smithsonian Institution to perform the works of Wayne Shorter.