FOLKZ Single from Russell Gunn & BLACKHAWK Album Out Now

Trumpeter, composer, arranger and producer Russell Gunn has released 'Folkz,' the first single from his upcoming album Afrikan-Amerikan Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth By Any Means Necessary, out October 16, 2026 via Vanglorious Arts.

The seven-song album, drawing inspiration from the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead and recontextualizing it through the lived experiences of African Americans, consists of six original Gunn compositions and one Duke Ellington classic.

Gunn elucidates, 'My music does not play defense. My music plays offense - letting people know we understand who we were, who we are, all the things that we do, illuminating the institutional lies about who we are, and identifying those who set the policies for those lies. The way I write, and think may appear, to some, that I'm coming from an antagonistic point of view. However, my music is not a 'response' to the past. I'm coming from a space of pro understanding about what my ancestors created and achieved, and how people can proceed in the greatness of that.'

Afrikan-Amerikan Book of the Dead also introduces Gunn's new sextet, Blackhawk: players primarily from East St. Louis, where Gunn was raised, and Atlanta, where he now resides.

'I call this band 'Blackhawk' because my favorite recording – the one from which I learned the most about how to play this music from a truly rooted sense – is Miles Davis' In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at The Blackhawk' (Columbia – 1961).'

'I picked each musician of Blackhawk for what I knew they would bring to the record. I've known saxophonist Kendrick Smith since he was a little kid. He's grown into one of the greatest musicians out on the scene today. The person I've known the longest is trombonist Andre Hayward (Mingus Dynasty Band, Gerald Wilson, Roy Hargrove). I believe he is the greatest trombonist walking the earth today.'

Rounding out the trio are pianist Kevin Bales, bassist Kevin 'Raw Dog' Smith, and drummer Jeremy 'Bean' Clemons – all making head-snapping contributions to the music as a unit and as soloists. Additional musicians include turntablist Sean Falyon, Hammond B3 organist Larry Wilson, guitarist Rod Harris Jr., percussionists Mino Cinelu and Ali Barr, baritone saxophonist Jamel Mitchell, saxophonist Carlos Brown Jr., and spoken word by Ken 'K Solo 007' Wells.

About the Album

Opening the album is track #1 'Folkz,' stemming back to Gunn's third album as a leader, and first Grammy nomination, Ethnomusicology, Volume 1 (Atlantic – 1999). 'I was very new to recording and producing,' Gunn reflects, 'what I was doing was completely new. I've had years of trial and error to mold my vision into the reality it is now.' Gunn uses a lift from a standup observation made by Paul Mooney to launch into a bravura piece overflowing with attitude over a monstrous ostinato.

As in traditional Black church service, track #2 'Pan Afrikan Invocation' opens with the solemn, organ-led, thesis-stating message that welcomes you and also states the purpose of the proceedings, featuring the reverent vocals of Ken Wells.

Exploding with much existential majesty is track #3 'The Rule of Two,' mirroring a parallel from film visionary George Lucas' Star Wars mythology regarding the dichotomy of there always being one entity in possession of great power and another entity in the wings with great desire to take it over. 'In modern society,' Gunn observes, 'there's so much craziness going on, yet no one knows precisely who is pulling all of the strings.' Chaos and tyranny fuel the feel of this music to where even when there appears to be peace, something else is always poised…to strike!'

Track #4 'Cahokia Pyramids' musically tells the story of a historical cultural site in East St. Louis that establishes that dark-skinned people fully inhabited the land long since time immemorial. The piece has a soaring melody, a deep breakdown of the rhythm section, moving to an intense saxophone improvisation, depicting yet another great place of peace…destroyed. 'The thing about that site is that it's not the only one.' Gunn states. 'They exist throughout the Midwest. They have been called 'mounds' to throw you off the fact there were people who existed there and built great cities. I've been to the great pyramids in Egypt. And the site in East St. Louis is just as majestic and scientifically and astronomically in tune. And sites such as the Cahokia Pyramids are up and down the Mississippi, in Memphis, Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Cambodia, and Peru.'

Gunn continues, 'I wanted the listener to imagine a peaceful time, people living their lives after these places were built. Then here come some usurpers disturbing the peace. That's when the music switches up. It eventually returns to the serenity of the beginning. You come to an understanding of what it was, then you can have that peace again.'

Track #5 'East St. Louis Toodle-Oo' is a shapeshifting composition created by Duke Ellington with trumpeter Bubber Miley. Gunn and company take the tune through some very hip rhythmic and sonic changes. 'Band leaders don't call this tune much,' Gunn shares. 'The only two covers I recall are by (saxophonist) Greg Osby and (jazz rockers) Steely Dan. This song is from 1926. I was trying to imagine what Duke was doing in East St. Louis at that time - then to add the term 'toodle-oo' on it like, 'I'm never coming back!?' I wanted to do my own modern take on that tune about my hometown.'

This gets into the ending of the album, track #6 'Voyages of the Pyramid Builders' – bringing to light that it was in fact dark skinned people of ancient times that populated the earth with pyramids such as in India, Bali, Thailand, and the one they tried to hide in China by planting trees to camouflage it. 'It's about facts. It's not speculation. We know what the people who built these things looked like because they depicted themselves in the artwork and stone monuments.'

Afrikan-Amerikan Book of the Dead ends with the full ensemble track #7 'Pan-Afrikan Benediction.' Again as in traditional Black church service, the 'Benediction' serves as a closing and a time to reflect on the lesson, ending with all band members singing the melody even though none are 'singers.' It represents the willingness to be vulnerable and let go of your fears.

About Russell Gunn

Born in Chicago in 1971, Russell Gunn's initial musical fascination was with Hip Hop. His family moved to East St. Louis in 1980, and Gunn took up the trumpet at age 10. By 16, his primary interest shifted to Jazz yet retained the spirit and energy of Rap. Gunn made moves from a full scholarship at Mississippi's Jackson State University. Following a move back to the St. Louis area, he began freelancing, gaining the attention of saxophonist Oliver Lake who invited him to play with him at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Shortly after, a jam session led to Gunn joining Wynton Marsalis for Blood On The Fields, with the early incarnation of Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Subsequently, Gunn joined Wynton's brother, saxophonist Branford Marsalis, in the Jazz/Hip Hop collective Buckshot LeFonque.

Since releasing his debut as a leader, Young Gunn (Muse - 1994), Gunn has been a prolific presence in Black music, from recordings and performances with Soul men D'Angelo and Maxwell to Marcus Miller, Jonathan Butler, Cee Lo Green, and Ne-Yo, to name a few.

2026 also finds Gunn traveling through Europe with bassist Marcus Miller's all-star We Want Miles! band: Russell Gunn on trumpet, Bill Evans on sax, Mike Stern on guitar, Miller on bass, Mino Cinelu on percussion and Anwar Marshall on drums – celebrating the centennial of Miles Davis' birth. Gunn is holding down the chair of Davis himself – one of a select handful of trumpeters that inspired him, including Clifford Brown, Booker Little, Lee Morgan, Anthony Wiggins and Freddie Hubbard.

Among Gunn's creative ventures is the launch of his company Vanglorious Arts, a space through which he intends to share future projects, both music and otherwise.

Summing up the intention behind Russell Gunn & Blackhawk's Afrikan-Amerikan Book of the Dead, Gunn states, 'The concept of the album is a takeoff on The Egyptian Book of The Dead: The Book of Going Forth By Day, which is a spirit guide that – once you are dead - teaches you how to be reincarnated into something better in the afterlife. My opus is about how to be happy in this life.'

Event Details

Album Release Concert: Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17

Sets at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

The Velvet Note, Alpharetta, GA

For more information on Russell Gunn, visit vangloriousarts.com.

Photo Credit: Sven 'Kosi' Kosakowski

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