About Mark Nauseef
Born 1953. Mark Nauseef is an American musician, percussionist and composer.
Mark Nauseef (born June 11, 1953) is an American drummer and percussionist who has enjoyed a varied career, ranging from rock music during the 1970s with his time as a member of the Ian Gillan Band and, temporarily with Thin Lizzy when Brian Downey was unable to travel because of health problems, to a wide range of musical styles in more recent times, playing with notable musicians from around the world.
Career Nauseef briefly toured the United Kingdom in 1972 as tour member of The Velvet Underground before joining Elf, fronted by Ronnie James Dio, in early 1975, but the group disbanded shortly afterwards. Accompanied by Elf keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule, Nauseef joined ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan in his new jazz fusion group, simply named the Ian Gillan Band. After three albums, Gillan broke the group up in 1978. Nauseef stood in for Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey for two international tours, and then joined Gary Moore's short-lived band G-Force.
During the 1980s, Nauseef moved away from rock music towards a range of styles, including Javanese and Balinese gamelan, as well as music of Indian and Ghanaian origin. He has released several solo albums and worked with other musicians in a variety of projects.
Artists with whom Nauseef has performed or recorded include Joachim Kühn, Gary Moore, Jack Bruce, Bill Laswell, Glenn Hughes, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Trilok Gurtu, Steve Swallow, L. Shankar, Hamza El Din, The Velvet Underground, Joëlle Léandre, Ikue Mori, Ronnie James Dio, Markus Stockhausen, Kyai Kunbul (Javanese gamelan), Andy Summers, Tony Oxley, Tomasz Stanko, Kenny Wheeler, Edward Vesala's "Sound and Fury", Thelma Houston, David Torn, The Ladzekpo Brothers (Ghanaian music and dance), Charlie Mariano, The Gamelan Orchestra of Saba (Balinese gamelan), Kudsi Erguner, Philip Lynott, George Lewis, Evan Parker and Lou Harrison. Throughout most of these projects Nauseef has collaborated with Walter Quintus.
Nauseef attended the California Institute of the Arts where he studied Javanese gamelan with K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat, Balinese gamelan with I Nyoman Wenten, North Indian Pakhawaj drumming with Pandit Taranath Rao, North Indian music theory with Pandit Amiya Dasgupta, Ghanaian drumming and dance with Kobla and Alfred Ladzekpo, Dzidzorgbe Lawluvi and C.K. Ganyo, and 20th Century Western percussion techniques and hand drumming with John Bergamo. He also studied frame drum techniques of the Middle East, India and the Caucasus with Glen Velez. It was also at CalArts that Nauseef began a very creative and productive relationship, which continues to this day, with musical "alter ego", guitarist Miroslav Tadic. Together, they have composed, recorded and produced various styles of music in settings ranging from duo to large ensembles with musicians from around the world.
Nauseef has also worked as a producer. In addition to his own recordings, he has produced many records of various types of music including modern experimental forms as well as traditional forms. Traditional music productions include numerous recordings of traditional Balinese and Javanese music, including the award-winning "The Music of K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat" which was recorded in Java and features Wasitodiningrat's compositions. Other examples include the Balinese ensemble recordings "Gamelan Batel Wayang Ramayana" and "Gender Wayang Pemarwan" which were recorded in Bali. These and other recordings of Indonesian music were produced for the CMP 3000 "World Series" with the production team of Kurt Renker And Walter Quintus. The "Worlds Series", which Nauseef was instrumental in establishing, was founded by CMP owner and producer Kurt Renker and produces recordings from a variety of non-western countries including India, Turkey, Korea, Indonesia and others.
Discography
Jack Bruce A Question of Time with Allan Holdsworth, Tony Williams, Ginger Baker, Albert Collins, Nicky Hopkins, Zakir Hussain, a.o., 1989 Somethin Els with Dave Liebman, Eric Clapton, Trilok Gurtu, Clem Clempson, a.o., 1993 The Jack Bruce Collector's Edition with Gary Moore, Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, a.o., 1996 Can You Follow?, Jack Bruce with John McLaughlin, Tony Williams, Frank Zappa, Cream, John Mayall, Chris Spedding, a.o., 2008
The Velvet Underground Disc 3 of Final V.U. 1971-1973, 2001
Elf Trying to Burn the Sun, 1975
Ian Gillan Band Child in Time, 1976 Clear Air Turbulence, 1977 Scarabus, 1977 Live at the Budokan, 1978
Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back in Town: Live in Australia, 1978
Gary Moore's G-Force G-Force, 1980 with Tony Newton, Willie Dee
Philip Lynott Solo in Soho, 1980 with Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler, a.o. The Philip Lynott Album, 1982 with Mark Knopfler, Mel Collins, Pierre Moerlen, a.o.
Solo and others Nightline New York, Joachim Kühn with Michael Brecker, Billy Hart, Bob Mintzer, Eddie Gómez, 1981 Information, with Joachim Kühn and George Kochbeck, 1981 Personal Note, with Joachim Kühn, Trilok Gurtu, Jan Akkerman, Detlev Beier, 1982 Sura, with Joachim Kühn, Markus Stockhausen, Trilok Gurtu, Detlev Beier and David Torn, 1983 I'm Not Dreaming, Joachim Kühn with Ottomar Borwitzky, Rolf Kühn, Herbert Försch, George Lewis, 1983 Wun Wun, with Jack Bruce and Trilok Gurtu, 1985 Dark, 1986 Dark: Tamna Voda, with L. Shankar and David Torn, 1989 Let's Be Generous, 1993 Bracha, with Miroslav Tadić, David Philipson and John Bergamo, 1989 Let's Be Generous, with Miroslav Tadić, Joachim Kühn, and Tony Newton, 1991 Keys To Talk By, with Dušan Bogdanović and Miroslav Tadić, 1992 The Snake Music, Miroslav Tadić, Jack Bruce, Markus Stockhausen, David Torn, Wolfgang Puschnig and Walter Quintus, 1994 The Sultan's Picnic Rabih Abou-Khalil with Steve Swallow, Kenny Wheeler, Charlie Mariano, Milton Cardona, Nabil Khaiat, Howard Levy, Michel Godard, 1984 Old Country, with Miroslav Tadić and Howard Levy, 1996 Baby Universe, Jadranka Stojaković with Miroslav Tadic, Yasuhiro Kobayashi, Jumpei Sakuma, Yoshiko Sakata, Michel Godard, Howard Levy, 1996 Still Light, with Miroslav Tadić and Markus Stockhausen, 1997 Loose Wires, with Miroslav Tadić and Michel Godard, 1997 Odd Times, Rabih Abou-Khalil with Howard Levy, Nabil Khaiat, Michel Godard OCRE with Sylvie Courvoisier, Pierre Charial, Michel Godard and Tony Overwater, 1996 Birds Of A Feather with Sylvie Courvoisier, 1997 Ottomania, with Kudsi Erguner, 1999 Sarabande, Jon Lord, with Andy Summers, Paul Karass, Pete York, The Philharmonia Hungarica, Eberhard Schoener, LP 1976, CD 1999 With Space in Mind, Solo 2000 Venus Square Mars, with David Philipson and Hamza El Din, 2000 Islam Blues, Kudsi Erguner with Nguyen Le and Renaud Garcia-Fons, 2001 Gazing Point, with Kudsi Erguner and Markus Stockhausen, 2002 Evident, with Joëlle Léandre, 2004 Snakish, with Wadada Leo Smith, Miroslav Tadić, Walter Quintus, Katya Quintus, 2005 Albert, with Ikue Mori, Walter Quintus and Sylvie Courvoisier, 2006 At The Le Mans Jazz Festival, Joëlle Léandre with Maggie Nicols, Irene Schweizer, William Parker, India Cooke, Markus Stockhausen, Paul Lovens, Sebi Tramontana, Carlos Zingaro, 2006 No Matter, with Bill Laswell, Markus Stockhausen and Kudsi Erguner, 2008 Orte, Raymond Theler with Walter Quintus and Marcio Doctor, 2008 Air, Dave Liebman with Marcio Doctor, Walter Quintus, Markus Stockhausen, a.o., 2011 Aspiration, with Alice Coltrane, Carlos Santana, Kudsi Erguner, Zakir Hussain, Pharoah Sanders, a.o., 2011 City Of Leaves, Sussan Deyhim with Bill Laswell, Kudsi Erguner, a.o., 2011 Near Nadir, with Ikue Mori, Evan Parker and Bill Laswell, 2011 Spaces & Spheres, with Stefano Scodanibbio, Tara Bouman, Fabrizio Ottaviucci, Markus Stockhausen, 2013 as the wind, with Evan Parker, Toma Gouband, 2016 All In All In All, with Arthur Jarvinen, Tony Oxley, Pat Thomas, Sylvie Courvoisier, Walter Quintus, Bill Laswell, Miroslav Tadić, 2018 Locked Hybrids, Matthew Wright with Evan Parker, Toma Gouband, 2020 Warszawa 2019, Evan Parker’s ElectroAcoustic Ensemble, 2020 La Convivencia: Hommage To Flory Jagoda, with Merima Ključo, Jelena Milušić, Miroslav Tadić and Yvette Holzwarth, 2022 Mongrels, with Tony Buck, 2023 Etching The Ether, Trance Map+, with Evan Parker, Matt Wright and Peter Evans, 2023
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Important facts
People in Mark Nauseef's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Mark Nauseef's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Mark Nauseef?
musician
When was Mark Nauseef born?
Mark Nauseef was born on 11 June 1953 in Cortland.
What is Mark Nauseef's occupation?
Mark Nauseef is a musician, percussionist and composer.
What nationality is Mark Nauseef?
Mark Nauseef is American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Mark Nauseef. https://biography.guide/mark-nauseef/
MLA: "Mark Nauseef." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/mark-nauseef/.
Chicago: "Mark Nauseef." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/mark-nauseef/.
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