His father Marzuki owned an automobile repair shop, and played the rebana; his mother died while giving birth to him.

[1] From a young age Marzuki enjoyed music, listening to songs repeatedly on the family's gramophone and learning to play the rebana, ukulele, and guitar.

Sometime around 1937 the group left NIROM and joined the rival station VORO (Vereeniging voor Oostersche Radio Omroep), playing live every Saturday.

[8] He was known for being fiercely nationalistic, once selling gado-gado with his wife instead of cooperating with the Dutch-Allied NICA (Nederlandsch-Indische Civiele Administratie) during the Indonesian National Revolution.

[10] Besides as a piano, saxophone, guitar, accordion, and harmonium player, he was also well known as a singer with a heavy and deep baritone voice which some of his friends gave him nickname "Bing Crosby from Kwitang".

[11] A large number of Marzuki's songs have been rerecorded and released in different genres, including pop music and keroncong,[12] such as "Kr.

[14] Classical composer Ananda Sukarlan has made virtuoso music for piano and/or orchestra based on his songs such as Selendang Sutra, Indonesia Pusaka and Rayuan Pulau Kelapa.

[4] He was honoured posthumously in 1968 with the opening of Taman Ismail Marzuki, a cultural centre and park in central Jakarta.