Delfeayo Marsalis

& the Uptown Jazz Orchestra

Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra are a highly entertaining ensemble, focused on maintaining important jazz traditions such as riff playing, New Orleans polyphony, and spontaneous arrangements. Formed by Marsalis in 2008, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra stretches the boundaries of what is expected from big bands, playing with an extraordinary sense of joy and fun that could only come from New Orleans. 

Featuring up to 18 accomplished musicians, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra sets the global standard for celebrating jazz in its authentic musical form, inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians and promoting a culture of diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the arts. 

Marsalis is one of the top trombonists, composers, and producers in jazz today. Known for his “technical excellence, inventive mind and frequent touches of humor” (Los Angeles Times), he is “one of the best, most imaginative and musical of the trombonists of his generation” (San Francisco Examiner). Marsalis has toured internationally with jazz legends such as Ray Charles, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, and Slide Hampton, as well as leading his own groups.