"Don't call it jazz! This is social music!" Miles Davis gave us that gem of a quote as he was admonishing a reporter for using "that dirty word, jazz" in an interview. What is a confusing remark at first becomes clear when you dive deeper into the mind of a professional musician. All great musicians are poly-genre, meaning they care less about the style of music than the quality of it, and its cultural resonance.
Host Jon Armstrong is a professional musician, and a professor of jazz music and recording technology at Idaho State University. Before moving to Idaho, Armstrong worked in Los Angeles for seven years as a player, composer, and educator. He's performed jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop, R&B, bluegrass, country, folk, reggae, and everything in between. He still gigs and writes a lot of music and is constantly checking out recordings from every corner of the creative music world.
Each show, Armstrong will play tunes that have caught his ear over the years, while telling fun stories and informative anecdotes from his unique perspective. On special occasions, he will also bring in a guest musician to do an in-studio live interview and performance!
Don't Call it Jazz. First and final Saturdays of every month at 7pm.
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Don’t Call It Jazz is thrilled to welcome Christopher Williams on the show to discuss and promote the 2024 Shady Grove Music Camp. -
Host Jon Armstrong celebrates the culmination of Pride month with the 4th annual Don’t Call it Jazz episode featuring a playlist of contemporary and historic LGBTQ jazz and creative musicians. The history of jazz has a complicated and toxic relationship with LGBTQ musicians, who have often been sidelined and ostracized, preventing many talented and visionary artists from flourishing and contributing to the art form. -
Host Jon Armstrong is thrilled to welcome Jaden Andrews to Don’t Call It Jazz to discuss his debut album, “Among the Stars” out on City Creek Records.
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Host Jonathan Armstrong is proud to host Lenet Neifert for a conversation about Juneteenth and to play a couple of tunes together for this episode of Don’t Call It Jazz. We discuss Lenet’s experience growing up as a Black Woman in Compton, CA, and how she came to live and perform in Pocatello.
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Don’t Call it Jazz is proud to welcome Dan Simms to discuss the Meadowlark Music Fest, happening in Old Town Pocatello June 5-8. In this episode of DCiJ we preview festival artists and provide a discount code for those planning to attend! -
Jon Armstrong from Don’t Call it Jazz is pleased to present a two-part podcast series on Casey Kalmenson, who goes by Little Monarch, the wonderful LA-based music producer. Casey came to Pocatello in 2023 as the second ever guest artist for the annual ISU Commercial Music Residency. Armstrong devised of this residency idea, where a contemporary music producer collaborates directly with commercial music students to produce an EP of original music. -
For this two-part episode, Jon Armstrong and Keith Kelly listen to and talk about the legendary 1970 Alice Coltrane album, Ptah, the El Daoud and Qasim Naqvi’s 2022 release, Two Centuries. Both albums feature two stellar soloists playing off of dynamic and vibrant backgrounds. Keith and Jon discuss each record and what they say about the creative music scene past and present. -
Don’t Call it Jazz is trying a new type of conversation show where host Jon Armstrong is joined by his longtime friend and musical collaborator Keith Kelly. The two of them will be trying a couple different show formats including, Old and New Dreams, where they compare an old classic album with a modern one. -
Claire's album is an exciting mix of pop, electronica, rock, jazz, and funk.During this two episode, Jon and Claire discuss the process of producing and releasing the album, what life after college looks like, and her goals as an artist and educator. -
Don’t Call it Jazz is thrilled to present the new album by Derrick Skye, a wonderful composer based in Los Angeles. Derrick composes “trans-cultural” music, a term he coined and honed with his outstanding open-instrument chamber ensemble Bridge To Everywhere.
