Matthew Stevens leads a group on Friday and Saturday at Bohemian Caverns.

Unlike the pop world, where a person’s chances of “making it” are next to nothing after the age of 30, the jazz idiom operates on a different timeline. Jazz musicians are expected to hone their craft, learn from their elders and then step out as leaders when they have the capability and maturity to make a credible artistic statement. Looking at guitarist Matthew Stevens, his career has followed that very path.

Stevens moved to New York in 2006 after leaving his native Canada to study at the famed Berklee College of Music. He has spent the last several years performing with jazz luminaries as well as some of his most noted contemporaries. Stevens’ list of collaborators includes Christian Scott, Jason Moran and Esperanza Spalding. Now, he is getting ready to put out his first full-length album.

“Stepping out as a leader has always been something I’ve wanted to do since I got serious about playing,” Stevens said in a recent interview with DCist. “In many ways it’s as simple as the fact that to me there is no greater form of self expression, and that’s the reason I started to play to begin with.”

Stevens will be performing material from that forthcoming album on Friday and Saturday as he leads a quartet at Bohemian Caverns. His approach to composition is not to write songs that he would enjoy as a player, but rather to develop ideas that would turn him on as a listener. His taste from that perspective is focused on the rhythm section, so his writing would often start with parts being mapped out for the bass and drums. His hope is to “close the gap” between his preferences as a musician and as an audience member.

“In the process of doing that over the past few years, a lot has ended up on the cutting room floor,” Stevens said. “Ultimately I feel its been a necessary and important process.”

Fantastic musicians will accompany Stevens this weekend. The quartet includes Eric Doob on drums, Gerald Clayton on piano, and Vicente Archer on bass. Clayton is well on his way to being a jazz star in his own right, while Archer and Doob are establishing themselves as in-demand musicians in New York.

“I feel that we have a really unique chemistry that stems for coming from varied musical backgrounds but sharing the same musical priorities,” Stevens said of his colleagues.

Stevens also has performed many times in the District with several groups. He has often played with bassists Kris Funn and Ben Williams, both area natives. He has also played at several venues in the city with Christian Scott and taught workshops in the area.

“I always hope that anyone who comes to see us leaves with a feeling that we gave it our all, left it all out on the stage and didn’t hold anything back,” he said. “That’s why I fell in love with music, and so I want to convey that as a performer.”

The Matthew Stevens Quartet performs 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. sets on Friday and Saturday at Bohemian Caverns. Tickets are $20 online/$25 at the door.