Marko Timonen (b. 1966) is a perfect example of a musician, who has familiarized himself with several music styles and thus made a long and versatile career. Timonen started his academic studies at the jazz department of Sibelius Academy in 1986 and was already at the end of the decade an important member of many bands of his fellow students, for example Jukka Perko Quintet. In 1993 Perko-Pyysalo Poppoo was formed that at latest introduced Timonen to the Finnish jazz audience. At the same time Timonen was busy with trumpetist Mika Mylläri's quintet, guitarist Pekka Luukka's Presents and pianist Jukka Linkola's tentet. He also played a few years in UMO and replaced Rami Eskelinen in Espoo Big Band during the time Eskelinen studied in New York.

In the mid-1990s Timonen joined also Värttinä where he played for seven years and got to enjoy the worldwide success and the long world tours of the modern ethnoband. Besides Värttinä he found time for ZetaBoo-band that released their debut album and did a Finnish Jazz Federation's tour in 1997. At about the same time the chameleon of Finnish rock, Ismo Alanko, formed Ismo Alanko Säätiö where Timonen fitted well as an extremely versatile drummer. Later Timonen has been an important link in rock-singer Maija Vilkkumaa's band. He hasn't however left the jazzfield totally: he played in the late-1990s in saxophonist Pekka Pylkkänen's Putkipaja and saxophonist Jouni Järvelä's Jouni Järvelä Group.

Timonen has also played in bassist Tuure Koski's chamberjazz-group Turgan Trio and in the bossanova-band Emma Salokoski Ensemble, that underlines even better the versatility of Timonen. On the 21st century he has also familiarized himself more with the Latin American rhythms spending some time in Brazil, that is heard well on the third album of ZetaBoo, Outerrail (Aito Records 2006).