Books by Michael Urban

Music, magic and myth are elements essential to the identities of New Orleans musicians. and membership in the city's musical community entails participation in the myth of New Orleans, breathing new life into its storied traditions.

Michael Urban chronicles the advent of blues music in Russia and explores the significance of the genre in the turbulent, postcommunist society. Russians, he explains, have taken a music originating in the "low" culture of the American South and...