Uptown Jazz Orchestra keeps its Wednesday at Snug Harbor on Nov. 18

Delfeayo Marsalis's big band, founded in 2008, packs into Frenchmen Street's 100-seat music room for another midweek night.

Frenchmen Street on a Wednesday has its regulars. One of them is a big band that, by the numbers, has no business fitting into a room that holds about a hundred people, and does it anyway.

The Uptown Jazz Orchestra plays Snug Harbor on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $52.60 through TicketWeb. The music room holds about 100, so this is as close to a full jazz orchestra as you can sit.

This is a hometown band in every sense. Our records show the Uptown Jazz Orchestra playing New Orleans more than any other market, and lately that has meant Wednesdays at Snug. The club's own calendar has carried a run of Wednesday dates for Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra through late summer and early fall. Some weeks the billing names a featured guest, such as John Gray in July and Trevarri Huff-Boone in August. The band also has a habit of turning up on bigger occasions, including a World Jazz Day bill.

Trombonist and producer Delfeayo Marsalis founded the orchestra in 2008, and Snug Harbor's listing notes that it can run as large as 18 musicians on a given night. Picture that many players on the stand at Snug and you understand the appeal. A big band is supposed to be heard from across a ballroom. Here you can practically read the charts.

The room has its own history with the family. Snug Harbor sits at 626 Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny, in three rooms of a renovated 1800s storefront): a dining room, a bar and the music room upstairs from the street noise. It books both noted local players and touring national names, and Delfeayo's father, pianist Ellis Marsalis, held a residency there for some 30 years. When the Uptown Jazz Orchestra plays Snug, a Marsalis is on the bandstand in a room where Marsalis has meant something for decades.

Up to 18 players, about 100 seats, one Wednesday on Frenchmen.

A few things to know before you go. According to the venue, doors open about half an hour before showtime, and the music room doesn't serve the full menu, though cheese and charcuterie trays are available. If you want dinner, eat in the dining room or somewhere else on the street first. With only about 100 seats, buy ahead.

Then stay out on Frenchmen afterward. A Wednesday that starts with a big band at Snug is a good Wednesday in New Orleans.

Sources: The Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro – TicketWeb (ticketweb.com); Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra – Snug Harbor (snugjazz.com); The Uptown Jazz Orchestra with John Gray – Jul 22, 2026 (ckord) (app.ckord.com); The Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Trevarri Huff-Boone – Aug 5, 2026 (ckord) (app.ckord.com); World Jazz Day with Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra (jazzday.com); Snug Harbor (jazz club) – Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Snug Harbor – Frommer's (frommers.com); Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro – Explore Louisiana (explorelouisiana.com)