Overview The Improvisations Gala is the New Orleans Jazz Museum's annual benefit, a December night when the whole Old U.S. Mint on Esplanade Avenue runs as a music venue, with bands on multiple stages, Baby Dolls and Mardi Gras Indians performing through the evening, and second-line parades. Each year takes a theme: in 2025 it was Storyville, the red-light district where Jelly Roll Morton and Sidney Bechet got their start. The 2026 edition is the ninth, presented by the Herb Alpert Foundation, with Herb Alpert, Jon Batiste and John Goodman among its honorary chairs. All proceeds go to the museum's Education Center and programming. The museum sits inside the Old Mint as part of the Louisiana State Museum and holds more than 25,000 artifacts. On site The 2026 gala runs from 7 to 11 at night. The first hour is a Patron Party for patrons and sponsors, billed with the River Eckert Band, passed hors d'oeuvres, a buffet from Messina's Catering and craft cocktails. At 8 the gates open to every ticket holder, and the music, food and signature cocktails run across the museum complex: the Main Courtyard, the New Orleans Hilton Riverside Stage, the Gallatin Lounge stage and a backstage lounge, with the exhibits open and the building dressed in lighting displays and art installations. A Treasure Chest Key raffle and an online auction that runs for a month around the gala raise more on the side. Talent and Influencers The bill is New Orleans first. The 2026 bill named The Soul Rebels as the closing act, with James Andrews and Big Freedia, on a lineup that included Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots, Cha Wa, the Masakowski Family Trio, the Treme-Lafitte Brass Band and a Danny Barker All-Stars band with Detroit Brooks, Herlin Riley, Greg Stafford and Dr. Michael White, plus the Taipei Jazz Orchestra from Taiwan. The same bill listed the NOLA Chorus Girls, the N'Awlins D'Awlins Baby Dolls, and Big Queen Mary K. Stevenson and the Original Wild Tchoupitoulas. Dee Dee Bridgewater took the stage at the 2025 Storyville gala. Track record The 2024 gala drew more than 1,500 guests, with 14 bands on several stages and eight brass bands, culture bearers and dance groups. Greg Lambousy and Sandra Dartus organized the 2026 edition, whose honorary chairs also included Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and Arthel Neville. Brand presence The Herb Alpert Foundation holds the presenting title. Beneath it, partners name the rooms: the New Orleans Hilton Riverside Stage, the Gallatin Lounge stage, the Main Courtyard and the backstage experience, and in 2026 Le Bon Temps Roule presented The Soul Rebels' closing set. The top levels carry industry exclusivity, a turn at the opening remarks or introducing a performer, and backstage tickets for guests. The smaller tiers are named for New Orleans musicians - Buddy Bolden, Sweet Emma, Ellis Marsalis - and every sponsor is read in the thank-you audio loop that plays through the night and listed in the museum's annual report.