He could have changed his name to something anonymously unglamorous like Kyle Jones or Kyle Williams, thereby avoiding not-always-welcome publicity and inevitable comparisons.

In the end, though, he just left his name alone and forged ahead with his career. After all, without massive and Frankensteinian plastic surgery, anyone who sees Kyle Eastwood notes a spot-on resemblance to his classically-featured father, actor-director Clint Eastwood. Besides, Kyle didn't follow the old man into a career as a thespian, where accusations of family connections would have predictably rained down.

Instead, Kyle Eastwood is a post-bop acoustic and electric bassist who brings his band Wednesday and Jan. 26 to Old Lyme's Side Door Jazz Club. Eastwood's instrumental virtuosity is matched by his skill as a composer, producer and a band leader. He also has a sterling reputation as a session sideman and, just in case the whole nepotism thing simply won't die, the fact that he's scored several of dad's movies — "Mystic River," "Million Dollar Baby" and "Iwo Jima," to name a few — is only suspicious until you hear how elegant, atmospheric and beautiful those soundtracks are.

For the record, a recent phone interview with Eastwood did not include any questions about Dad. Instead, topics like his world-class band and his excellent latest album, "Time Pieces," seemed more interesting.

"Time Pieces," released in 2015, received glowing reviews and is a stylistically experimental work in which Eastwood and company — saxophonists Brandon Allen and Quentin Collins, pianist Andrew McCormack and drummer Ernesto Simpson — consciously used the 1950s and '60s sound of the renowned Blue Note jazz label as an inspirational heartbeat. The recording presents stunning renditions of tunes by Eastwood heroes like Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock and twirls them amidst visionary original material that reflects that era while still conveying an absolutely contemporary sound.

In conversation, Eastwood is quick to laugh, thoughtful and humble, and clearly a fan of the history and personalities of chosen profession. And, yes, he does reference Clint tangentially. Here are excerpts from that conversation.

On why he chose to play bass:

"I liked drums at first, and I'd had some piano lessons. I remember getting to go to the Monterrey Jazz Festival as a little kid and seeing the Count Basie Big Band with Joe Williams singing. But I was fascinated by the drummer. It was something about the rhythm. Later, when I was 10, my father took me to Dante's (jazz club) in L.A., and trombonist Bill Watrous was playing. Bunny Brunel was playing electric bass — and that was it! I picked up the bass and started teaching myself and later took lessons from Bunny. But it felt natural from the start and always has. Plus, I had high school pals who were musicians, but none of them played bass. (laughs) So I was in demand!"

On his mastery of both electric and acoustic bass and distilling from a variety of styles:

"I started messing around on electric bass around 12, and I was and am a huge fan of Jaco Patorious and Stanley Clarke. After a few years of lessons, I switched to acoustic bass and focused on that for several years and eventually just decided to play both. I listened to a lot of prog rock and fusion bands like Return to Forever and Weather Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. But also masters like Mingus. There are so many styles of music and so many inspirational players, and I guess it's paying off. You absorb the aspects you like, and hopefully you make something your own."

On "Time Pieces" and the magical flow between original material and interpreting classics:

"I knew from the start I wanted to record a few specific standards like 'Blowin' the Blues' and 'Dolphin Dance.' They're songs from my favorite period of jazz, the so-called Blue Note years, so I started writing tunes from that era that went in that direction and had that flavor. I wrote some independently and then brought some ideas into the studio that the guys in the band fleshed out."

On the importance of band chemistry that goes beyond just onstage and studio chops:

"These guys are all amazing players, but they're also very good friends. We have very similar musical tastes, and that plays into the chemistry of the music and on the album. I think if you have guys in the band who all get along, the audience can see and hear it in the performance. Besides, you're only onstage for a few hours together. You hear about bands where the musicians really don't get along. I can't imagine anything worse than being on the road with musicians who might be great players but they're people you can't stand."

On the difference between composing soundtracks and playing jazz as a career:

"It's completely different process. In film, you're watching what's on the screen, and you have to remember things have to be a certain length, and you can't get in the way of dialogue. There's a lot of rules and editing, and obviously it's much more of a support role. It's fun, and it's a different challenge about creating music but not necessarily in a musical way. There's a lot more freedom with jazz — which is, by definition, all about freedom. Jazz is about playing how you want and reacting with other musicians to what's happening in the moment."

The Kyle Eastwood Band, 7:30 Wed. and Jan. 26, Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme St., Old Lyme; $40; (860) 434-0886.