The Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra launched its concert season on a high note last weekend, with celebrity trumpeter Doc Severinsen winning over a festive Saturday night crowd with a Pops program that ran the gamut from Argentine tango to Tin Pan Alley classics, le jazz hot to le jazz cool.

The former band director for “The Tonight Show” in the halcyon Johnny Carson days  resides in San Miguel de Allende, the historic Mexican town that has become a haven for American and Canadian ex-patriot retirees.

Severinsen clearly intended to retire from show business when he moved to Mexico at the end of 2006.

However, he and his wife went out to dinner one night and caught a performance by a very talented group of musicians.

Instead of putting his feet up, the 82-year-old Severinsen has teamed up with El Ritmo de la Vida, performing a varied program on both sides of the border with symphony orchestras.

Conducting the orchestra as well as tooting his shiny horn, Severinsen remains a musical force to be reckoned with on today’s entertainment scene.

Ever the clothes horse — he changed from apple green leather pants to ones that matched a hot pink bugle bead-encrusted jacket after intermission — Severinsen shows no signs of slowing down. The man can still play trumpet with the best of them.

From a fiery introduction to “El Amor Brujo” to the closing notes of a mariachi classic, “La Espiga,” Severinsen was in fine form — as was the quintet of Mexican musicians with whom he’s associated.

Program highlights included the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli (“Minor Swing”) that featured the decidedly swinging violin of Ali Bello and Doc’s jazzy horn, plus pianist Eugenio Toussaint’s slick arrangement of an Astor Piazzolla milonga that again combined violin and trumpet alternating leads on the acclaimed accordionist’s work.

Guitarist Gil Gutierrez played an important role all evening long, but of particular note was his flamenco-inspired effort on a work titled “Camino del Pan Bendito.”

Percussionist Miguel Favaro, who laid down a rhythmic beat throughout on cajon, teamed up with bassist Gilberto Gonzalez and Gutierrez for a barnburning arrangement of “Sweet Georgia Brown,” unlike any we’ve heard before.

Severinsen and company set the Lincoln Theater crowd on fire with a sweeping rendition of a Chick Corea classic, “La Fiesta.”

Throughout the two-hour show, the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra, under Severinsen’s baton, fleshed out arrangements, notably on “Caruso” (although Severinsen’s version is a bit more edgy than the one played by Chris Botti on his last visit here) and Django Reinhardt’s “Nuages.”

Additional crowd pleasers included a rousing ensemble for “Granada,” with an augmented  percussion section, and a haunting encore, “Dark Eyes.”