Ralph Ellison once wrote that the rules of performance in American culture are jazz-shaped. This book explores the Afro-Creole core culture of New Orleans as the mainspring of this energizing music.

Much of the cultural capital of the city is buried in a complex, tripartite racial history, which threatens the binary logic of North American racism with all sorts of sensual transgressions. Its jazz-derived culture combines elements of African, French, Spanish, and Anglo-American cultural practices which, in their fusion, have created a unique propulsive energy: second line parades, jazz...