Biography

Alan Richard Munde (born November 4, 1946) has served bluegrass in many ways since he first began performing in the middle 1960s. He’s been an innovative banjoist, a sideman, a band founder and leader, an educator, a columnist, an author, and an entrepreneur. The breadth of his work has been felt by many thousands, both within and outside of the genre.

Munde’s bluegrass journey began while in high school in the early 1960s. Alan’s first interest was in the guitar, but quickly shifted to the banjo on hearing it in the folk music of the time. He was sparked by the bluegrass banjo playing of Earl Scruggs after hearing the Foggy Mountain Banjo album. A short time later, Munde performed in two different bands, the Bluegrass Gentlemen and the Stone Mountain Boys. The former group included up-and-coming fiddler Byron Berline. It was during this timeframe that Munde developed the ability to play fiddle tunes – note for note – on the banjo. The technique became a signature part of his style. Munde credits his Oklahoma and later West Coast surroundings for fostering his creative juices. There, he was viewed as a musician who happened to play the banjo, as opposed to being defined solely as a bluegrass banjo player.

Another byproduct of Munde’s late college years was his meeting with Sam Bush and Wayne Stewart. The trio of contemporary pickers became known as Poor Richard’s Almanac. The group recorded a self-titled release that appeared on the American Heritage label. Muleskinner News reviewer Bill Vernon observed that Munde “puts his accomplished technique and wealth of ideas to full use.”

In the fall of 1969 Munde headed to Nashville. There, he secured a spot as the banjo player for Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys. Although his previous work had been termed avant-garde, Munde adapted his playing to suit the style and demands of Jimmy Martin. Over a two-year period, he participated in the recording of material that appeared on three of Martin’s albums: Fly Me to Frisco, I’d Like to Be Sixteen Again, and the gospel Singing All Day and Dinner on the Ground. Given Martin’s somewhat limited touring schedule and his penchant for paying the bare minimum union scale of $35 per day, Munde supplemented his income by working as a substitute teacher in the Nashville school system, painting, pumping gas, and by picking up occasional music gigs.

After two years with Martin, Munde headed to California where he reunited with Byron Berline in a country rock group called the Flying Burrito Brothers. Following a whirlwind tour of Europe, Munde and Berline collaborated to form the West Coast bluegrass band Country Gazette. Other original members included guitarist Kenny Wirtz and bass player Roger Bush. The group spent the summer of 1972 performing at Disneyland and in the fall released its debut album, A Traitor in Our Midst. The major label (United Artists) disc enjoyed brisk sales and did much to launch the Gazette’s 20-year trajectory. Bluegrass Unlimited reviewer Walt Saunders categorized the disc as “some of the best bluegrass music ever recorded by a West Coast band.” Speaking specifically of Munde’s part of the project, Saunders rated his banjo work as “easily his best to date, and he seems musically much more at home with this group.”

Concurrent with his work with the Country Gazette, Munde began releasing solo banjo projects, the first of which was Banjo Sandwich. Acting on his training as an educator, Munde assembled a book of transcriptions of his banjo work on the album, thus affording aspiring banjo pickers the opportunity to learn his tunes as he played them, note-for-note.

By the middle 1970s, a number of musicians came and went in the Country Gazette. One of the earliest additions was mandolin player Roland White, an alumnus of the Kentucky Colonels. Texas-based Joe Carr, a former member of the group Roanoke, joined on guitar. Bass player Mike Anderson, also of Roanoke, completed the new line-up on bass. Elements of jazz began to creep into the group. In addition to being fun to play, Munde felt the tunes helped to improve his musicianship. One of the group’s “go to” tunes was Slim Richey’s composition “Jazz Grass Waltz.”

Munde remained at the helm of the Country Gazette for its entire twenty-plus-year run, the only original member to do so. He played an important part of the group’s two United Artists releases (the other being Don’t Give Up Your Day Job), a string of well-received albums and CDs on Chicago’s Flying Fish label, numerous tours of Europe and Japan, and collaborations with several symphony orchestras.

But it was as a solo artist, perhaps, that Munde realized his greatest potential. He made over 25 solo and collaborative recordings, contributed a monthly banjo column to Frets magazine for 10 years, and authored at least 10 banjo instruction books.

Munde’s position as a bluegrass educator became central when he signed on as a faculty professor in the country and bluegrass music program at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. The gig lasted for 20 years, from 1986 until 2007. His association with the college began with a few Country Gazette concerts and workshops at the school in 1981 and 1983. He began his time at South Plains College in the fall of 1986. At the time, South Plains was the only college in the nation to offer a two-year associate of arts degree in bluegrass. The program, which started in 1975, was already 12 years old by the time Munde arrived. By 1990, he was the head of the bluegrass department. In addition to receiving instruction on their respective instruments, students also learned the mechanics of organizing and working in a functioning bluegrass band, how to work in a recording studio, and understand bluegrass as a business. Teaching at South Plains offered Munde a respite from constant touring and also allowed him the opportunity to use his own college training in education. A summer program that he helped install at the college continues to be popular; Camp Bluegrass, a five-day residential camp, attracts musicians from across the nation and around the world

When Munde retired from South Plains, he did not retire from music. He didn’t have much in the way of a permanent band at first, but did pair up for select performances with other musicians, such as banjoists Bill Evans and Bill Keith and guitarist Adam Granger. There were solo gigs and teach-ins at various gatherings such as Nashcamp, Midwest Banjo Camp, Ben Clark’s Cabin Camps, and the Swannanoa Gathering. Munde fronted the Alan Munde Gazette from 2007 to 2009.

When not on the road, Munde launched his own on-line retail outlet for the sale of instructional banjo materials, Al Munde’s Banjo College; participated in the making of the 2001 IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year, Knee Deep in Bluegrass – the Acu-Tab Sessions; served as an IBMA board member; was a 2008 recipient of an IBMA Distinguished Achievement award; was the 2021 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo award (which included a $25,000 stipend); and was a 2022 inductee to the American Banjo Hall of Fame.

Gary Reid is a bluegrass music historian, journalist, producer, and actor based in Roanoke, Virginia.