
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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This episode of Don’t Call it Jazz will provide a full preview of the upcoming ISU Jazz Fest, happening on Friday February 7th and Saturday February 8th featuring the wonderful musician, world-percussionist and drummer Randy Gloss coming from Los Angeles.
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The last few weeks have been so sad for me and my family, as we watch helplessly from our home in Idaho, the devastation from the wildfires in Los Angeles. My wife and I lived in Northern Altadena for many years while we were down there, and our old neighborhood is completely gone. Obliterated in the blink of an eye by a brutally violent wildfire.
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Jon curates a playlist of some of the great music released on City Creek Records in 2024, discussing the projects in detail, revealing some planned projects for 2025, and shares his new year’s resolution for the ISU Commercial Music Program and City Creek Records.
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Merry Christmas from Don’t Call it Jazz! 🎄✨ This year, we’re celebrating the season with a festive mix of old-timey and bluegrass Christmas tunes. Join us for a heartwarming musical holiday!
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I am happy to welcome Keith Kelly again to the show, this time to share the music that each of us is teaching our students at our respective schools! Keith is a professor of music at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, AZ.
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Don't Call It Jazz welcomes back Kieth Kelley to take you on a deep dive into two great records: Alice Coltrane's Ptah the El Daoud and Qasim Naqvi's Two Centuries. Jon and Keith put together a playlist of tracks from each of the principal players on both of these legendary albums.
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I am excited to welcome Dr. Jenna McLean, my colleague in the ISU music department and co-director of the commercial music big band to Don’t Call it Jazz. Jenna and I converted the big band to this open-instrumentation group as a way to better represent and support the growing and dynamic talent of the commercial music program. We put together ten interesting new arrangements of songs by Stevie Wonder for our debut concert, Friday October 25th in Jensen Hall at the Stephen’s Performing Arts Center. Concert starts at 7:30pm, tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance.
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Don't Call It Jazz welcomes back Kieth Kelley to take you on a deep dive into two great records: Alice Coltrane's Ptah the El Daoud and Qasim Naqvi's Two Centuries. Jon and Keith put together a playlist of tracks from each of the principal players on both of these legendary albums.
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Don’t Call it Jazz is thrilled to present, “From the Vault”, a new series of episodes where host Jon Armstrong plays music from his old CD and Vinyl collection. This physical media collection has been going strong for over 25 years, and it’s been a blast to rediscover these iconic albums.
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Don’t Call it Jazz is thrilled to present, “From the Vault”, a new series of episodes where host Jon Armstrong plays music from his old CD and Vinyl collection. This physical media collection has been going strong for over 25 years, and it’s been a blast to rediscover these iconic albums.