Louis Cato brings fresh energy to television — and to the jazz scene.

IF YOU NEED SOMETHING DONE, ASK A BUSY PERSON. In this case, that adage applies to multi-talented musician/vocalist/producer Louis Cato. At the ripe old age of 38, Cato somehow balances his role as bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – he succeeded Jon Batiste in the position a little more than a year ago – with performing, songwriting and recording his second album, Reflections.

Cato plays the Monterey Jazz Festival on Saturday, Sept. 23, with gigs at the Jimmy Lyons and West End Stage. This marks his first solo Monterey appearance, though he’s previously been here as a sideman with Bobby McFerrin and Snarky Puppy. He made his debut at the Newport Jazz Festival last month, sitting in with his old friend Batiste before segueing into his own set, which included tracks from Reflections along with spirited covers of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy’’ and Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up.’’

These diverse genres reflect Cato’s unusual background, and interests. The Portuguese-born musician – his father was stationed in the military there at the time, though the family moved to North Carolina when he was just a baby – studied at the Berklee College of Music. While he left after two years for the life of a gigging musician, he returned this year to deliver a commencement address at the school, in which he emphasized the lasting importance of relationships.

Cato paid his dues while touring with Marcus Miller, only to suffer severe back and neck injuries when the band bus crashed somewhere between Monte Carlo and Amsterdam. Thankfully, he’s since recovered.

The resilient musician’s chops and accessibility, featured in warm vocals and tight, sprightly arrangements, should appeal to jazz purists and younger, more eclectic audiences alike. It’s a combination that illustrates Duke Ellington’s famous dictum: “There’s only two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.”

Speaking from his Hell’s Kitchen apartment, Cato says, “I like a lot of styles and musical influences. There’s a world of traditional folk and blues I feel really drawn to. Old-school and modern hip-hop, soul-based R&B… Bill Withers has been a major influence.

“This has been one of the puzzles of my artistic expression,” he adds. “Having spent some time in music school exploring harmony, hope I bring nuance and spirit into the intricacies of the incredible jazz tradition.”

Workers’ strikes have put The Late Show on hiatus, and afforded Cato more time to put together Reflections. “It’s two sides of the same coin,’’ he says. “You’re doing the job because you love it – working with so many people at the top of their game – but want the actors and writers to be treated fairly. It has indeed opened up time for other endeavors.”

Cato plays every instrument on the new album. These include: acoustic and electric guitar, electric bass and percussion, not to mention lead vocals with his persuasive, engaging voice. (“Given enough time, Louis could learn to play Mozart on a shoehorn,” Colbert said, when he formally announced Cato’s bandleader appointment.)

Tracks showcasing his eclectic interests range from the funky Corinne Bailey Rae-penned opener, “Put Your Records On,” to a Motown-influenced cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You.”

But the bulk of the record comprises Cato originals, including the folksy ballad “Another Day,” where he shares the vocal with Elizabeth Ziman of Elizabeth and the Catapults; the bluesy “Someday You’ll Understand;” a lovely lullaby titled “Cutie Baby”; and the introspective title track. As his lyrics put it: “I wasn’t ready for reflection when she came into my world/ I was too scared to face my own fears and I could see them in her.”

“The pandemic represented a shift inward for all of us that are alive on the other side of it, thankfully,’’ Cato says. “[During that] forced isolation for an extended period of time, I had a lot of soul-searching to do and the extra weight I was carrying emotionally was part of the process that began the songwriting.’’

But even self-interrogations have a wry side, as in the double-edged “Unsightly Room,” an admonition to a significant other that venturing beyond his “kitchen so clean, every counter pristine’’ of the rest of his house comes at her own risk. Asked if he was addressing his own inner hoarder, Cato laughs: “There might have been another level to that metaphor.”

His joyful experimentation extends into live covers of everything from to George Benson’s “Give Me The Night,” to the Beyoncé staple, “Love On Top” and Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight.”

He returned to his home turf in Isla Negra, Portugal, in 2020 to record Mirrors, a spirited collaboration with Justin Stanton and Michael League of Snarky Puppy, indie rocker Becca Stevens, Elizabeth Ziman and the celebrated Portuguese fado chanteuse Gisela João.

Despite his many years in the Late Show band – including a stint filling in for Batiste when he had Covid-19 – taking on the lead role required some adjustments. “There’s only a few jobs like this in the music industry, which require a combination of so many things,” he says. “I had a front-row seat to how Jon developed that role… but there’s nothing like actually doing it.”

He had the chance to talk about the challenges of the position with David Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer at a gig they both played in Brooklyn. He said Shaffer was supportive and approachable, but at the end of the day, he knows he’s on his own.

“After our first full day of production, I was more zonked than I’d ever been in my life – and that’s saying a lot, since I’m used to being tired. I asked [Shaffer] how he managed the energy of the show. He said, ‘Man, I don’t know,’” Cato recalls. “Thanks a lot.”

MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL takes place Friday, Sept. 22-Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Monterey County Fair and Event Center. $70-$95 per day; $30/day youth ages 2-12. montereyjazzfestival.org. Louis Cato plays 12:30-1:20pm Saturday, Sept. 23 on the Jimmy Lyons Stage and 3:30-4:30pm on the West End Stage.