Don’t put Alexis Lombre in a box. While instrumental jazz shaped her early sound, she’s excited to show what more she’s capable of. “I’m South Side Chicago. I’m from the hood. This was starting to feel like a double life for me,” says Lombre, who grew up in Chatham and Grand Crossing. “I need to start incorporating more things that feel more authentic to me, though I do love jazz.”

The seeds of that growth can be heard on her latest single, “Boundaries,” a strong-minded wonder about the importance of placing limits that straddles jazz, R&B, and soul. Written after a difficult relationship, it’s also the first single where Lombre’s vocals are front and center. “I want to indoctrinate the masses about the importance of boundaries.” 

Lombre started out as a piano-playing prodigy: She composed her 2017 debut, Southside Sounds, while at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, and the album was released when she was at the University of Michigan. Now in her late 20s, she is a seasoned force with an evolving point of view. “I was conditioned to fear this kind of jazz police in my mind, which I just gotta let go, because that’s been creatively stifling.”

Lombre recently moved to Los Angeles to further push her career. Yet Chicago is still a priority. Following a September 29 appearance at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, she’ll headline a benefit concert for the Merit School of Music. Expect a taste of more tracks from her highly anticipated second album — or maybe just a musician more confident and in control of her work than ever.

Lombre plays City Winery on October 30.