I started out on drums, actually—I come from a family of drummers. My grandfather, Chester Jones, played in the Preservation Hall, and Benny Jones [drummer for the Treme and Dirty Dozen brass bands] is my uncle. I was eight years old when I started on the snare drum and then about age 10 I switched over to trombone.

I think what attracted me to it were all the trombone players in...