Arts & Entertainment
Interview with 2011 Silver Spring Jazz Festival Headliner Marcus Johnson
Hometown musician makes his third appearance at annual Downtown event.
The 8th Annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival runs from 3:30 – 9:30 p.m. on September 10 at Veteran’s Plaza. Patch caught up with globe-trotting festival headliner Marcus Johnson, to get his take on what influences his music Downtown Silver Spring and summer camp.
Patch: Is this your first time headlining the ?
Marcus Johnson: Actually, I headlined the first Silver Spring Jazz Fest, with others from Three Keys Music.
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Patch: How is headlining this year’s festival going to be different from that first one?
M.J: It's a few years later and hopefully I sound better! I’ve been practicing and playing a lot over the past six years. It is always a great experience here. To watch something you’ve been a part of grow, and to have the community acknowledge it and ask me to come back and headline is great.
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Patch: Are you from Silver Spring?
M.J: Yes, I went to and graduated in 1989. I was Silver Spring before there was a new Downtown Silver Spring. I remember Hecht’s, Peoples Drug Store, the old record shops and barber shops that were there before City Place.
Patch: How do you like the new Downtown Silver Spring?
M.J: It’s great! Silver Spring is its own unique area--very cultural and a lot of fun. I don’t know if you could do a jazz festival as big as we do without it, plus the support of the [Silver Spring] community. The new Fillmore is exciting, too! I spoke at County Council meetings about the Fillmore – it was great to see the community support.
Patch: How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it before?
M.J: Good question--it’s a mix of urban instrumental with a euro-jazz kind of vibe--stuff that makes your neck move back and forth.
Patch: What inspires your music?
M.J: Grooves. Straight-out, DC hip-hop, easy listening and even rock. If you go to a Montgomery County High School like I did, the experience is very unique--all the different races, creeds and colors. At the time I was at Blair, 170 different languages were spoken, even back then. I had all those experiences--plus the go-go filter.
Patch: Are you working on anything new you’ll share at the festival?
M.J: Yes! Some of my new stuff featuring Young Pulse, a DJ in Paris. We put out Flow and Chill Volume II [CDs] together. He will be onstage with me as DJ. I’ll also play things from my This is How I Rock CD – a manifest of my different influences: Nirvana, Jay Z and all the big hip-hop cats of the day. Also, a few students from my summer camp will join me on stage--they are nervous, but excited!
Patch: Besides your own music, what else do you listen to?
M.J: I listen to a lot of Brazilian music. It’s very passionate. I spend a lot of time [online] on Pandora--put in a certain vibe, and it’ll give you stuff you’ve never heard before. I’m a big fan of that and Slacker.
Marcus Johnson & band take the festival stage Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
