The Grammy award-winning New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) will celebrate its nineteenth season with the annual Big Beat Gala fundraiser on Saturday, December 4, hosted by Big Freedia. The gala is jointly chaired by renowned author Walter Isaacson and Laverne Toombs, executive director of the New Orleans Black Regional Chamber of Commerce, along with Adonis Rose, artistic director of NOJO.

A concert will feature selections from Songs: The Music of Allen Toussaint, the fourth studio recording by NOJO and the first under Rose’s direction. Toussaint, one of New Orleans most well-known composers, wrote such classic tunes as “Java,” “It’s Raining,” “Southern Nights” and “Working In A Coal Mine,” all of which receive fresh large ensemble interpretations by the orchestra. Other tunes associated with Toussaint, but not necessarily written by him, such as the classic “Tequila,” are also on the playlist.

NOJO is guaranteed to deliver a raucous and swinging tribute to a true American music original at the New Orleans Jazz Market, 1436 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, for this special occasion. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.