An average working class guy. A cup of coffee. A short Italian-American actor with a gun and nasally voice saying, “Do I amuse you?”

The name “Joe” conjures numerous associations, but if you’re a jazz guitarist like Steve Masakowski, there is only one “Joe” of primary importance: Joe Pass, the prolific and influential guitarist who died in 1994 at age 65.

Masakowski, a member of the 22-year-old New Orleans-based modern jazz quintet Astral Project, has released five previous records unde...