Markus Ketola (b. 1968) began studying music seriously in the early 1980s. In addition to his main instrument, drums, he studied classical percussion while working in musicals and light orchestras. Entering the Sibelius Academy Jazz Department in Helsinki in 1989, he also took private lessons in New York. Since the beginning of the 1990s he has performed with leading Finnish jazz musicians and gigged with such international artists as Dick Oatts, Conrad Herwig, Wolfgang Dauner and the Scandinavian Lars Gullin Octet. For the past few years Ketola has played in the ranks of the prestigious UMO Jazz Orchestra, appearing in concert with numerous top soloists and leaders, such as Michael Brecker, Mercer Ellington, Joe Lovano, Albert Mangelsdorff and John Scofield.
In his compositions Ketola seeks to create a musical environment where it is possible to broaden the range of expression by also giving the drums melodic and solo spots.