Jazz / Christmas, Mainstream Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Holiday
Marcus Johnson - Piano, Keyboards, Executive Producer, Arranger, Producer, Fender Rhodes
Billy Hickey Engineer
Bryan Mills Keyboards, Arranger
Craig White Mixing
Jackiem Joyner Arranger, Saxophone, Instrumentation, Programming, Producer
Justin Young Guitar
Keith Ailer Arranger, Vocals
Marcelo Pennell Engineer
Peter Humphreys Mastering
Sean Geason Bass
Stanley Cooper Guitar
His smooth jazz contemporary Dave Koz may be a better-known multimedia sensation, but keyboardist Marcus Johnson has been at the top of his game these past years as an artist, record label executive (Three Keys Music, dedicated to a sound he calls "metropolitan smooth"), and drive-time DJ on WJZW in Washington, D.C. While the label's catalog shows an equal affinity for urban-flavored pop sounds and more straight-ahead jazz, Johnson's holiday celebration, Smooth Jazz Christmas, is decidedly on the lighter, playful side. With the exception of the atmospheric, retro-soul-flavored "White Christmas" -- which features a thoughtful Fender Rhodes melody -- Johnson sticks smartly to the crisp organic sounds of the acoustic piano, working out bright, lively elegant funk arrangements of "We Three Kings" and the Donny Hathaway chestnut "This Christmas," while going more contemplative on other tracks. For variety's sake, he spotlights the sweet-voiced East Coast crooner Keith Ailer on a restrained reading of "The Christmas Song" and, more impressively, a welcome boogie woogie twist of "Silent Night." ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
Marcus Johnson
Active Decades: '90s and '00s
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Christmas, Jazz-Pop, Contemporary Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Crossover Jazz, Contemporary R&B, Smooth Jazz, Holiday
A smooth jazz keyboardist, Marcus Johnson incorporates the rhythms of rap with the soul of R&B. Johnson grew up listening to a broad variety of music: his mother played classical piano and his first memorable concert experience was seeing an Earth, Wind & Fire show with his father. His interest in jazz first showed itself when he began tinkling the keys at age 13 (his step-father won Maryland's "Pick-3 Lottery" and used the winnings to buy Johnson's first keyboard) and he found himself studying both traditional and contemporary jazz musicians (Joe Sample and Thelonious Monk are two names he frequently cites).
Johnson also established Marimelj Entertainment Group, Inc., a production company and music publisher that prides itself on blending a mixture of contemporary jazz, alternative, and R&B to create what the company calls "the Urban Groove."
---Zac Johnson, All Music Guide |
