Relying on 56 open-ended interviews with members of the musical community in New Orleans, Michael Urban shows how the pleasure of participation in this storied assemblage outweighs commercial considerations. Music making and personal lives move in tandem, each reflecting an orientation elevating group goals over individual achievements.

Michael Urban is Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA. Although his career has focused on the study of Russian politics-yielding titles such as The Rebirth of Politics in Russia (1997) and Cultures of Power in Post-Communist Russia (2010) - it has also included space for the study of music and community - as in Russia Gets the Blues: Music, Culture and Community in Unsettled Times (2004) - which is extended with the present volume.