In 2006, Delfeayo Marsalis was recruited to play in a performance of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s version of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” But the New Orleans trombonist didn’t love the results.

“I felt like we didn’t capture the spirit of the music,” Marsalis told the Herald. “It was a performance for students, and they didn’t really know what to make of it.”

After the performance, Marsalis told a fellow musician that he was going to, “get together some guys who are going to play this music correctly.” That ensemble, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, has now enjoyed 18 years together — and is maybe best known for its residences at New Orleans jazz club Snug Harbor.

Now Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra will revive Ellington and Strayhorn’s “The Nutcracker Suite” with three local performances — Dec. 11 to 13 at Cambridge’s Arrow Street Arts. For a man steeped in jazz (his brothers include Wynton, Branford, and Jason), this reinvention of the beloved ballet represents what worked so well about the Ellington-Strayhorn partnership.

“‘The Nutcracker’ is interesting because it’s so sophisticated,” Marsalis said. “Duke Ellington is credited, but it’s really Strayhorn who had that sophisticated sense. Duke was in touch with what people liked. That’s why they had such a great relationship… a perfect relationship.”

Uptown will get some back up from New England aces at this holiday bash. Fronting the band for a few tunes will be Connecticut singer Nicole Zuraitis, winner of the 2024 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Legendary local choreographer Adrienne T. Hawkins, Boston native and “So You Think You Can Dance” winner Russell Ferguson, and the Slaughter House Poppin Sessions’ Tron Hunt will help Marsalis reinvent the piece.

“What will be really special for us at this performance will be the dancers,” the Berklee College of Music graduate added. “As musicians, we feed off the dancers. When you have dancers, it’s almost as if you have a responsibility and that’s right there present with you.”

“We always say, ‘Man, why don’t we play like the older guys who played back in the ’50s and ’50s,” Marsalis said. “Well, it’s because at some point they played for dancers and that heightens your sense of groove.”

Beyond the suite, the night will include an eclectic mix of jazz genres — more holiday tunes and selections from Ella Fitzgerald songbook (this is where Zuraitis comes in), plus New Orleans brass band classics. With every show he does, he brings a good dose of New Orleans with him.

“People down here like to party,” he said with a laugh. “So with the Big Easy Holiday bash we will bring the party.”

The mash up will be unlike anything else in Boston this season. And nothing like the first time he played “The Nutcracker Suite” back in 2006.

For tickets and details, visit arrowstarts.org