There were gigs in New Orleans where one would just expect to see Steve Steinberg. Many folks and musicians first starting noticing him as a denizen of Donna’s Bar & Grill, which opened in 1993, soon after Steinberg moved from his native New York to New Orleans. Steve Steinberg, who through the years could regularly be spotted at the Palm Court, Vaughan’s Lounge, Bullet’s, the Spotted Cat and the Maison, died on September 24, 2015. He was 82.

“He would go anywhere to hear a special mus...