Trumpeter Russell Gunn will release “Afrikan-Amerikan Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Any Means Necessary” in fall 2026 through Vanglorious Arts. The album introduces Blackhawk, Gunn’s new sextet, and continues his work creating music rooted in Black history, enrichment and excellence.
The record features six Gunn originals and one Duke Ellington classic. Gunn describes his approach as music that “plays offense,” celebrating Black achievement and exposing the institutional lies told about Black Americans.
“I’m coming from a space of pro understanding about what my ancestors created and achieved, and how my people can proceed in the greatness of all that,” Gunn said.
Gunn drew Blackhawk’s players primarily from East St. Louis, Illinois, where he was raised, and Atlanta, where he now lives. He named the group after Miles Davis’ 1961 live album “In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk,” the record he credits with teaching him the most about playing the music “from a non-academic, truly rooted sense.”
The sextet includes saxophonist Kendrick Smith, trombonist Andre Hayward, pianist Kevin Bales, bassist Kevin “Raw Dog” Smith and drummer Jeremy “Bean” Clemons. Gunn calls Hayward, a veteran of the Mingus Dynasty Band and groups led by Gerald Wilson and Roy Hargrove, “the best trombonist walking the earth today.” Guests include turntablist Sean Falyon, Hammond B3 organist Larry Wilson, percussionist Ali Barr, baritone saxophonist Jamel Mitchell, vocalist Ken “K Solo 0007” Wells and the Bond Avenue String Quartet.
The album opens with the solemn, organ-led “Pan-Afrikan Invocation.” “The Rule of Two” borrows the “Star Wars” idea that one power always waits in the wings to overtake another, reflecting what Gunn sees as the hidden forces behind modern chaos. “Cahokia Pyramids” honors the ancient city builders of the Cahokia site near East St. Louis, a place Gunn says is too often dismissed as mere “mounds.” Later, “Voyages of the Pyramid Builders” carries that theme to pyramid sites around the world.
Gunn reimagines “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo,” the 1926 tune by Ellington and trumpeter Bubber Miley, as a modern tribute to his hometown. “Folkz,” which traces back to his 1999 Atlantic album “Ethnomusicology Volume 1,” launches from a standup bit by the late comedian Paul Mooney into a bravura piece over a driving ostinato. The full ensemble closes the album with “Pan-Afrikan Benediction,” featuring Wells’ reverent vocals.
The title nods to the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, a guide for the soul’s passage into a better afterlife. Gunn’s goal is closer to home.
“My opus is about how to be happy in this life,” he said.
Gunn will celebrate the release with his octet at The Velvet Note in Alpharetta, Georgia, on Friday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 17. Each night features two sets, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Ticket info
