Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra Present: The Big Easy Holiday Bash 2025! Celebrate the joy of the holiday season with Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra at the Big Easy Holiday Bash 2025, a festive showcase of New Orleans greatest music and musicians! Experience an evening filled with holiday classics, New Orleans R&B, and a jazzy rendition of Duke Ellingtons Nutcracker Suite. Created to spotlight the vibrant artistry of New Orleans, the Big Easy Holiday Bash unites exceptional vocal and instrumental performances with dazzling jazz dance. Adrienne Hawkins whimsical choreography honors tradition while infusing modern energy and flair. The celebration features: NEA Jazz Master Delfeayo Marsalis, Grammy Award winning vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, and Choreography by Adrienne T. Hawkins. Prepare for a musical odyssey that carries you from the streets of New Orleans to the nightlife of New York and all the way to the grand concert halls of the old country!
Led by acclaimed New Orleans jazz musician Delfeayo Marsalis, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra (UJO) was founded in 2008 as a multi-generational ensemble of the city’s finest musicians who, through repertory performances, strive to preserve and present the essence of big band and jazz traditions. New Orleans is considered the “Birthplace of Jazz” and these musicians are its finest ambassadors. The members of the orchestra draw from New Orleans’ incredibly rich and unique history and continued vibrancy of jazz.
The mission of UJO is to reach and extend jazz audiences in all communities without regard to economic class, sharing the importance of music and its history, and to motivate people of all ages to strive for excellence in everything they undertake. Through performances and clinics, UJO utilizes the power of the arts to equip and inspire the creative leaders of tomorrow.
The orchestra performs original compositions, blues and jazz standards that combine riff-playing, spontaneous arrangements, collective improvisation, and New Orleans second line groove. The remarkable level of musicianship and creativity presented continuously inspires audiences. Individually, the musicians of UJO have championed the jazz art form in locations throughout the world as well as in the recording studio.