Jazz ensemble Test was the brainchild of Tom Bruno. At the time, the drummer had been playing under the auspices of a program known as Music Under New York, which signed up musicians to ply their trade in the city's subways. Bruno, who sometimes paired with other artists to form duos, decided that he wanted to perform with Daniel Carter after the two musicians met in the program's offices. The pair enlisted bass player Dan O'Brien and their trio was born, but it wasn't long before the original lineup changed. O'Brien bowed out, and Matt Heyner came aboard to take his place on bass. At this time, the group also welcomed saxophone player Sabir Mateen into its ranks. After the early '90s, the group performed at least weekly in the subway system beneath New York City, or on the city's streets.

Heyner, whose mentor was William Parker, was the outfit's youngest member by at least a couple of decades. Previously, he was featured with Dave Nuss in the improvisational group No-Neck Blues Band. Carter had put in time with a crew known as Other Dimensions in Music, of which Parker was also a member along with Rashid Bakr and Roy Campbell Jr. Other ensembles that featured Carter include One World Ensemble, Tenor Rising, Drums Expanding, and Post Prandials. Mateen led his own trio, and for several decades performed with a list of other artists that included the Raphe Malik Quartet and the Pan-African People's Arkestra. Drummer Bruno died in August of 2012. ~ Linda Seida, Rovi