National Spokesperson:  Marcus Johnson

When it comes to the fusion of mega-watt talent and contemporary business savvy President/ CEO Marcus Johnson 's Marimelj Entertainment Group, LLC is synonymous with greatness. Marimelj is a tour de force multi-faceted entertainment company that houses some of today's hottest jazz musicians such as Bobby Lyle, Alyson Williams, and Nick Colionne . Not only does Johnson's Marimelj Entertainment Group serve as the parent company to Washington, DC-based Three Keys Music , but it is also home to a fully functional recording studio, Studio 8121 East, and two music publishing companies, Marimelj Music Publishing and Three Keys Music Publishing .

In 1997, the multi-talented pianist released his sophomore album, Inter Alia . In the Kemp Mill Music retail chain, this CD outsold the Titanic soundtrack in the first two weeks after its release. This led to Johnson signing a deal with N2K Encoded Music. N2K took Inter Alia and renamed 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.

In 1998, Johnson released Comin' Back Around . This CD still holds the record for most units sold at the Capital Jazz Festival. By 2000, Johnson had secured distribution from Lightyear Entertainment/WEA (Warner Elektra Atlantic) for his record label venture, and by 2001, Johnson had signed jazz great Bobby Lyle to Marimelj. At this point, Johnson had released  four additional albums on his imprint, including his own critically acclaimed album, Urban Groove , jazz bass guitarist David Dyson's Soulmates and saxophonist Jaared's Foreward . Later, Marimelj garnered even more attention when Jaared was nominated for “Best New Artist of the Year” at the National Smooth Jazz Awards in 2002.