Ismail Marzuki

Background

Ismail Marzuki was born in Kwitang, Jakarta, to a wealthy Betawi family. His father owned an automobile repair shop and played the rebana; his mother was a housewife who raised him.

From a young age, Marzuki learned to play the rebana, ukulele, and guitar by ear, listening repeatedly to records on the family gramophone. He attended a Dutch-language elementary school (HIS) in Menteng and later MULO on Mendjangan Street, becoming fluent in Indonesian, English, and Dutch, and also studied religion at Unwanul Wustha Madrasah. He never studied music formally.

Marzuki wrote his first song, 'O Sarinah', in 1931. He began his music career by joining the Lief Java Orchestra in the mid-1930s, performing at Studio Orkes NIROM II in Bandung. Around 1937, the group moved to the rival station VORO. He later led the Jakarta Studio Orchestra, the Bandung Studio Orchestra, and the Hoso Kanri Kyoku orchestra during the Japanese occupation.

In 1940, he married Eulis Zuraidah, a Sundanese keroncong singer. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he sold gado-gado with his wife rather than cooperate with the Dutch-Allied NICA. He wrote his last song, 'Inikah Bahagia', in 1957, and died at his home in Tanah Abang on 25 May 1958, being buried in Karet Bivak Cemetery.