Russell Gunn - Afrikan Amerikan Book of the Dead (2026)

Trumpeter and composer Russell Gunn, on the album “Afrikan-Amerikan Book of the Dead,” takes the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead as his model and reimagines its funerary symbolism as a way of reflecting on personal and cultural African American history. For him, memory is not a prison but raw material for creation: a past marked by violence and resistance becomes a source of strength, and the achievements and resilience of ancestors move to the foreground. Communities move forward carrying this legacy with them, and the music reflects exactly that motion.

The album’s sonic fabric is woven from jazz, funk, and hip-hop, fused into a single language. It is performed by the ensemble Blackhawk: Gunn assembled the musicians deliberately, based on what each could contribute to his vision. In pieces such as “Cahokia Pyramids” (a nod to the ancient Mississippian-culture city) and “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” (a title tied to the legacy of Duke Ellington), there is no attempt to literally reconstruct past events. Instead, the music builds an expressive narrative, and jazz emerges as a living, dynamic language capable of absorbing diverse influences.

The album takes no defensive stance. It invites the listener into a difficult conversation about identity and historical narratives, leaving room for ambiguous readings and personal meanings, while remaining physically powerful music, gripping in its rhythm and melody.

Tracklist:
01-01 Russell Gunn, BlackHawk - Folkz [6:45]
01-02 Russell Gunn, BlackHawk - Pan Afrikan Invocation [1:08]
01-03 Russell Gunn, BlackHawk - The Rule of Two [5:49]
01-04 Russell Gunn, BlackHawk - Cahokia Pyramids [8:17]
01-05 Russell Gunn, BlackHawk - East St. Louis Toodle-oo [5:44]
01-06 Russell Gunn, BlackHawk - Voyages of the Pyramid Builders [5:57]
01-07 Russell Gunn, BlackHawk - Pan Afrikan Benediction [1:15]