Born and raised in Illinois, trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Russell Gunn absorbed rap as a youth before shifting toward jazz for his career, even as hip-hop continued to shape his primary artistic direction. His contributions to Wynton Marsalis' Blood on the Fields first drew notice from critics and listeners, after which he performed alongside Jimmy Heath, Roy Hargrove, James Moody, and R&B hitmaker Maxwell, including on the latter's MTV Unplugged session. Following several independent projects, Gunn joined Atlantic and delivered the solo Ethnomusicology, Vol. 1 in early 1999, an album that earned a Grammy nomination the next year. Smokingunn appeared twelve months later, and in 2001 Gunn revisited the concepts of the initial volume with Ethnomusicology, Vol. 2. He has since issued two additional installments in the Ethnomusicology series, namely Ethnomusicology, Vol. 3 and Ethnomusicology, Vol. 4: Live in Atlanta. In 2007 the trumpeter honored fellow St. Louis, IL, native and trumpet icon Miles Davis by recording Russell Gunn Plays Miles.
