Leave a group playing (7)
I believe the answer is:
abandon
'leave' is the definition.
(to abandon is to leave or desert)
'a group playing' is the wordplay.
'group' becomes 'band' (band can mean a group of people).
'playing' becomes 'on' (on can mean playing or performing).
'a'+'band'+'on'='ABANDON'
(Other definitions for abandon that I've seen before include "Evacuate; desert" , "scrap" , "Leave, desert" , "Total lack of inhibition (often gay?)" , "Stop" .)