Marcus Johnson & Matthew Shell

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 ar...