“I’ve been playing on Frenchmen for about eight years now. I have a residency at the Blue Nile, which started off as a duo for jazz happy hour and has evolved to what it is today. I feel very grateful to have cut my teeth on that world-famous stage and figure out the type of music I want to do, be able to write, and try out things on my audience.

I didn’t start performing music until I was about 24, 25 years old. I’m a...