An adventurous, California-based percussionist and educator, Jovia Armstrong is known for her cross-genre skills informed by Afro-Cuban traditions, funk, soul, and jazz fusion. She released her debut album, Fuzzy Blue Robe Chronicles, in 2009. The founder of Chicago's Sounds About Write music school and a member of the AACM, she has worked regularly with JC Brooks the Uptown Sound and the innovative all-women string group Musique Noire. In 2022, she collaborated with flautist Nicole Mitchell for the Afro-futurist-inspired The Antidote Suite.

Born in Detroit, Armstrong became interested in music while growing up, and by age 12 she knew she wanted to be a percussionist. Throughout her teens, she continued to explore her passion, playing cello, French horn, and piano. After high school, she studied classical percussion at Michigan State University. It was there that she met drummer Francisco Mora-Catlett, who introduced her to Afro-Cuban percussion and encouraged her interest in jazz. After three years, she transferred to Columbia College in Chicago, where she completed her degree in Music Business.

Armstrong debuted as a leader with Fuzzy Blue Robe Chronicles in 2009. She has worked with a bevy of artists from across the musical spectrum including El DeBarge, Rahsaan Patterson, Maysa, Ballaké Sissoko & Babani Kone, Martha Reeves, and others. She is also a regular member of the Chicago neo-soul band JC Brooks the Uptown Sound and one-fourth of the women-led string ensemble Musique Noire. During her time in Chicago, she also founded the Sounds About Write music school and became a member of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians).

Armstrong eventually relocated to the West Coast, where she enrolled as a PhD candidate at the University of California Irvine's Integrated Composition Improvisation and Technology program. In 2022, she released The Antidote Suite, which featured music composed to accompany U of C Irvine's Black Index exhibit showcasing Black self-representation in art. The album was recorded with flautist Nicole Mitchell and released on her Black Earth Music label. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi