The journey to success began almost a decade ago when Marcus Johnson was pursuing both his MBA and Juris Doctorate degrees at Georgetown University. Fresh out of Howard University, Johnson had big dreams of releasing his own debut contemporary jazz album, Lessons in Love, an enigmatic masterpiece showcasing Johnson's flair for the piano. In 1995, armed with both the moral and financial support of his doting older sister, he was able to release Lessons in Love, launching his career as a contemporary jazz artist and creating his own label, Marimelj Entertainment Group, LLC known today as Three Keys Music.
Just one year after releasing Lessons in Love, the multi-talented pianist released his sophomore album, Inter Alia. In the Kemp Mill Music retail chain, this album outsold the Titanic soundtrack in the first two weeks after its release. This success and the attention that it brought led Johnson to sign a deal with N2K Encoded Music – home of the online innovator: Music Boulevard, which was the foundation for what is known today as Amazon.com. N2K renamed Inter Alia, calling it Chocolate City Groovin'. When N2K was sold, Johnson was able to reclaim his rights to his masters and, again, started releasing CDs under the Marimelj Banner.
Johnson has jettisoned his career as a fledgling music mogul and made a name for himself at the hottest jazz festivals and events including The Capitol Jazz Festival, Ghana Jazz Festival, Bahamas Jazz Festival, St. Lucia Jazz Festival, Bermuda Jazz Festival, Atlantic Artscape, Huntington Beach Jazz Festival, and the National Smooth Jazz Awards. Determined that success is his for the taking, Johnson has managed to simultaneously work as a savvy businessman and emerge as a major contender in the jazz market by releasing 8 phenomenal albums. He describes his music as "instrumental R&B with a DC bounce," and maintains that the hallmark of his music is "the neck factor," a term he coined to explain the involuntary neck movement that results from listening to his music. In addition, Marcus is currently a morning host on the popular Smooth Jazz 105.9 radio station where he connects with listeners every morning all over the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and also is featured on the Idol Chatter segment on Fox 5 News to comment on the American Idol show.
