Jon Hischke grew up in Kansas where he began studying piano and singing in grade school. In high school he took up the clarinet followed by the saxophone. As a student at Kansas State University he was a member of the K-State Singers, a singing group which performed extensively including world-wide USO tours. He enlisted in the US Navy and was accepted into the Navy music program as a woodwind player. After graduating from the Navy School of Music, he was a member of a Navy band and served duty in the eastern United States with tours of duty to the Mediterranean.
After serving four years in the Navy band, he played professionally on the East Coast and Chicago and toured the United States with rock bands including the Red Dogs and the Smoke Ring. Jon came to Lincoln 1973 and earned a Masters Degree in Music with an emphasis in Jazz Studies at the University of Nebraska. As an instructor of the History of American Jazz at UNL he co-authored a course study guide which was published and sold nationally and is still used in universities and colleges across the country. Jon has continued to work professionally in Lincoln and Omaha playing in back-up bands for entertainers Doc Severensen, Tom Jones, Natalie Cole, George Burns, Bob Hope, The Smothers Brothers, Joel Gray, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Wayne Newton, Liberace, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and many more. Having also remained active in the local music scene Jon has played with numerous local groups including The Omaha Symphony Orchestra, The Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra and various combos and small groups. Currently he plays in The Fabtones and the Duboius Brothers.
In addition to Star Music, Jon and his wife Cindy have owned and operated The Printer, a commercial printing business, since 1978. Jon has been followed in music by his children. Son Jonathan is a professional electric bass player living in California and daughter, Courtney is a professional dancer in Chicago.
