Russell Gunn & BLACKHAWK Release AFRIKAN-AMERIKAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

Trumpeter, composer, arranger, and producer Russell Gunn has released his latest album, Afrikan-Amerikan Book of the Dead, through Vanglorious Arts on October 16, 2026. The seven-song album consists of six original Gunn compositions and one Duke Ellington classic, and reflects what the release describes as a revolution of the mind — the digestion of sanitized history and how a people move forward with greater knowledge of self, truth, pride, and strength.

The second single from the album, 'East St. Louis Toodle-oo,' was made available the same day as the release.

Gunn explains the intent behind the music: '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.'

The album introduces Gunn's new sextet, Blackhawk, made up of 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).'

Gunn continued, '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 group are pianist Kevin Bales, bassist Kevin 'Raw Dog' Smith, and drummer Jeremy 'Bean' Clemons. 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

Track #1, 'Folkz,' stems 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 the piece.

Track #2, 'Pan Afrikan Invocation,' opens with an organ-led message featuring the vocals of Ken Wells, stating the purpose of the proceedings in the manner of a traditional Black church service.

Track #3, 'The Rule of Two,' mirrors a parallel from 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,' tells the story of a historical cultural site in East St. Louis establishing that dark-skinned people fully inhabited the land since time immemorial. '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 composition created by Duke Ellington with trumpeter Bubber Miley. '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.'

Track #6, 'Voyages of the Pyramid Builders,' brings to light that it was dark-skinned people of ancient times that populated the earth with pyramids in places such as India, Bali, Thailand, and China. '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.'

The album ends with the full-ensemble track #7, 'Pan-Afrikan Benediction,' which serves as a closing and a time to reflect on the lesson, with all band members singing the melody even though none are 'singers.'

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. He attended Mississippi's Jackson State University on a full scholarship before returning to the St. Louis area, where he began freelancing and gained the attention of saxophonist Oliver Lake, who invited him to play with him at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. A jam session led to Gunn joining Wynton Marsalis for Blood On The Fields, with the early incarnation of Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He subsequently 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, recording and performing with Soul artists D'Angelo and Maxwell, as well as Marcus Miller, Jonathan Butler, Cee Lo Green, and Ne-Yo, among others. In 2026, Gunn is also 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, with Gunn holding down the trumpet chair once occupied by Davis.

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

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 concerts will be held Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17, with sets at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., at The Velvet Note in Alpharetta, GA. Tickets are available online at The Velvet Note.

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