“Laissez les bon temps roullez” — Let the good times roll.

The premier classic jazz group of New Orleans, the Creole Jazz Serenaders, brings their classic jazz to the Napa Valley Opera House Dec. 4.

Led by Don Vappie, arranger and banjo player extraordinaire, the group captures the essence of early New Orleans jazz culture in a contemporary performance.

Vappie, a proud New Orleanian, comes from a musical family that has performed jazz since he music’s birth in the back streets, bars and bordellos of the Crescent City.

The group’s debut CD, “Creole Blues,” earned a “Best of the Beat” award. Offbeat Magazine chose it as one of Louisiana’s “100 Essential CDs of the 20th century.”

Their second release, “In Search of King Oliver,” was the subject of a Public Radio International syndicated series, “Jazz Classics in Stereo.” The latest releases, “Swing Out” and “Banjo à la Creole,” use classic arrangements and original compositions to delve more deeply into early jazz, its evolution and Creole elements.

In 1998, in conjunction with the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Creole Jazz Serenaders presented “Jelly’s Big New Band — The Lost Manuscripts of Jelly Roll Morton,” premiering newly discovered Morton compositions.

Vappie keeps the Creole Jazz Serenaders’ music fresh and lively throughout a two-hour concert. “The music really stays new,” he said from his Louisiana home base. “There are times when I get to perform it with Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center, and it’s always new. There’s a cultural element to early New Orleans music — you can’t separate the music from the dance, and the dance is part of life.”

Listen for some holiday songs sprinkled among jazz classics during their Opera House date, and meet Vappie and his band in the Café Theatre after the show.

Creole Jazz Serenaders

Napa Valley Opera House  

Friday, Dec. 4, 8 p.m.

Tickets:    $25/$30

Box office: www.nvoh.org; 226-7372