Jon Armstrong
Host of Don't Call It JazzHost of Don't Call it Jazz (DCiJ) on KISU-FM. DCiJ air's twice monthly on Saturday nights at 7:00 pm.
Jonathan Armstrong is an Idaho based creative musician, bandleader, composer, and innovative educator. In 2015, he moved to Pocatello to take the job as the Director of Jazz Studies at Idaho State University. Before that he resided in Los Angeles, where we worked as a professional musician. He has released two critically acclaimed albums: “Farewell” (2013) features compositions for a 25-piece large ensemble, and “Burnt Hibiscus” (2015) sets surrealist poetry to Indian ragas for a 10-piece ensemble. He is also a member of the Kobie Watkins Grouptet, a jazz quintet that regularly performs all throughout the country. Their debut album "Movement" was released in 2018.
Jon was recently awarded a 2019 Idaho Commission on the Arts Performing Arts Fellowship. He enjoys long walks in the Pocatello hills with his wife, daughter, and dog.
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Bad Snacks, the artist name for musician Jesse Hanson, came to ISU in January of 2024 as our 3rd annual commercial music artist in residence. She worked directly with ISU Commercial Music students, producing an EP of their music. She returns this month, on March 20th, to perform with ISCS and the ISU Big Band. -
Bad Snacks, the artist name for musician Jesse Hanson, came to ISU in January of 2024 as our 3rd annual commercial music artist in residence. She worked directly with ISU Commercial Music students, producing an EP of their music. She returns this month, on March 20th, to perform with ISCS and the ISU Big Band. -
I am honored to dedicate this episode to Chrysalis, an outstanding album by Ryker Reese, a recent graduate of the ISU Commercial Music program. Chrysalis is available on Bandcamp via the link below, or you can find it through the City Creek Records Website -
For this episode of Don’t Call it Jazz, I preview the upcoming ISU Jazz Festival featuring recorded music from our guest artists, the Sheela Bringi Bird Clan. -
On this episode, the band Loot came to the studio to talk about their new EP, released in December of 2025.We discussed the making of the record, the history of the band, things to do in Elco, and the Pocatello music scene. -
Host Jon Armstrong is thrilled to invite the band Khorvai to talk about their new album Acheron, available streaming everywhere. -
Jon Armstrong and Grant Harville have part 3 of their conversations about music and art. -
My good friend Grant Harville is back on the show to talk about music! We discuss what it is to be an “institutionalized” musician versus a freelancer, and what freedom we have as artists, conductors, and composers to create and experiment within the responsibilities of our positions and jobs.
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I’m excited to have my colleague and co-director Jenna McLean in studio to preview the upcoming Commercial Music Big Band fall concert, Friday October 24th at 7:30 in Jensen Concert Hall
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I am quite happy to have Grant Harville come on the show to discuss a great many things. Grant is a brilliant and profound musician, composer, performer, conductor, and human, and a good friend of many years.
