Shaun Munday

In his renewed musical life, Shaun Munday expands the practice of improvisation. The arrangement and instrumentation are up for grabs, as are the song choice and the possibility of merging songs into something new.

He can do this because he has become a solo artist. When he unveiled his solo act last month at Q Enoteca, he brought four instruments, an acoustic guitar, four and six-string electric basses and an upright bass, along with a set list that he was still shuffling minutes before he hit the stage.

“I like doing that tightrope thing. The guy on the tightrope: I’d always thought that was pretty cool,” he said. “The upright bass that was back there (behind him on the stage), I walked by it on the way out to the gig. I hadn’t touched the thing in two or three months. And I said, why not? A lot of those songs I’d never actually played all the way through, or figured out a way to start or stop them.”

Local-music fans may know Munday as the bass player for high-energy or groove-oriented rock, funk and jazz bands — Delta Sol Revival, Sequel Dose and Greene County Social Club. He has stepped aside from those projects and most other gigs. Friends had been goading him to step out on his own, and he chose the solo format to maintain autonomy in creative and business matters, he said.

“I like to keep it fresh and exciting, which is what I need right now, for sure,” he said. “Other people like that too, that excitement: What’s he gonna do next? I don’t even know.”

In the formative stage of the solo act, Munday participated in an open mic event where he heard “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, which he enjoyed so much that he worked on it and performed it at the Q Enoteca show.

“I had not actually done the whole thing and didn’t know how to end it until I went up there. As I’m playing, I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to get out of this?’ So I sang two-three verses, then I did an instrumental version of ‘Amazing Grace,’ which I knew and was in the same key.”

At the time, the medley sounded like a decision, not a surprise, splicing together two prayerful songs with the transition from the sorrow expressed in “Hallelujah” to the redemption in “Amazing Grace.”

“A lot of it is me getting lucky with stuff,” Munday said. “It was poignant, and it worked out. I’ll keep that!” However, it may not sound the same next time, he said.

Munday was challenged to sing at Central High School, where Choir Director Alberta Smith forced him to use his lungs and vocal chords to make music. He developed his vocal technique as a sidelight at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he received a degree in bass performance. Recently, he has been listening to Donny Hathaway, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and others in that vein.

After Berklee, he could have immersed himself in the jazz scene along the Northeast Corridor, but the year was 2008, and the economy and the music scene were tanking.

“It didn’t add up. I missed having a yard. I missed a car, driving myself around, things that you get to do in the Midwest,” he said. “I like it here. You have time to think, appreciate things. There’s not the constant rat race, 16-18-hour days just to get by. There’s a lot to be said for living here.”

Shaun Munday
• 7 p.m. Saturday, White River Brewing Co.

• 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, Lindbergs

• 6 p.m. March 4, Jalen’s Bar & Grill

• 8:30 p.m. March 19, Q Enoteca

• 9:30 p.m. March 26, Patton Alley Pub - News-Leader

Shaun Munday has done it all throughout his career as a professional musician.

Everything, that is, except take the spotlight. Munday has spent years pouring funk into rhythm sections and soulfully voiced harmonies into some of the region’s favorite bands.

At the urging of friends from markets across the nation, the multi-talented Munday is taking a step out of his shell to play solo.

“I think I’ve done everything else and played with everybody; a lot of different instruments in a lot of different styles,” Munday says. “This is pretty much the only thing I haven’t done.”

For years, you could find the long-haired and muscle-bound Munday bouncing around the stage with several different groups, most noticeably perhaps with local party band Sequel Dose. He still picks up gigs with groups throughout the region—either on stage or in studio sessions—but says his only regular gig now, aside from teaching, is church every Sunday.

“I’ve shelved a lot of the other full-time stuff to put more time into (solo efforts),” Munday says.

George Benson, Sam Cooke and Al Green—“the classic soul voices,” he says—fueled his love for music early in life. The love took him to Boston where he graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2008, receiving a major in bass performance.

He appreciated their musicianship early on and says he was drawn to their “hip harmonies.” Fans of soul, jazz and R&B will get a first glimpse Saturday, January 30 at Q Enoteca for an intimate show. At its base, Munday says the music is equal parts jazz, funk and blues. The tambour of his voice, however turns it all into soul.

“Initially, (the performances) will have a lot of me on guitar or doing some unconventional stuff on bass,” Munday says, “myself and a lot of singing.”

“I’m usually moving so fast that I don’t have time to stop and smell the roses,” Munday says of performing music for a living. “I get to make my own hours and travel, making art and teaching art. It’s a lot of fun, a lot of work. I think it’s worth it, and I’m having a great time doing it.” - 417 Magazine Set List

Shaun Munday is a professional musician and bass guitar player known for performing many musical genres including soul, jazz, and blues in the southwest Missouri area. His voice has been likened to Marvin Sapp, Donny Hathaway, Sam Cooke and Luther Vandross by mentors and fans alike. In addition to being an accomplished vocalist, he is able to transition to most string instruments, piano, and percussion. Finding his musical self during high school, he began performing with different groups early on, gaining experience in nearly every style of instrumentation and songwriting.

Before starting his solo career, Munday spent several years playing in what one news reporter described as “high-energy or groove oriented rock, funk, and jazz bands” (Peaco, 2016). Besides his own projects, he has worked with several musicians such as Mary Wilson of The Supremes, country music star Collin Raye, John Mayer, and Jimmy Buffett. He has had the opportunity to open for Robert Cray, guitarist for Otis Day and the Knights as well as Bob Marley’s band, Aston Barret and the Wailers.

Munday says the best part of his job as a musician is “playing different styles of music with different people in different places… things are constantly changing. I enjoy constantly pushing myself… it’s never the same day twice.” Mix his diverse background with his philosophical approach to songwriting and interpretation and you will find an eclectic mix of music that defines his style.

When he has time during his busy schedule, the altruistic Munday enjoys performing at charities, events, and church functions, among others. In addition to performing, he teaches guitar, bass, upright bass, piano, and voice lessons to all ages through Palen Music Center and by making house calls. Recently he spent a week performing and talking about music with fourth graders at Phelps Center for the Gifted, his former elementary school, much like Joe Bonamassa did at Munday’s high school years earlier.

A native of Springfield, Munday grew up listening to the jazz, blues, and R&B music of his parents’ generation. He especially appreciates his father as “initially introducing me to the love of music and all that instruments are capable of.” Inspiration came from artists such as George Benson, Babyface, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, Grover Washington, Jr., Gino Vannelli, Prince, and Natalie Cole, among many others. He attended Central High School where he got his first taste of performing music outside of his home. It was at Central where he met Chris Rohrbaugh, his band director, who encouraged him to further his musical studies and introduced him to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.

After following Rohrbaugh’s advice, Munday was awarded a scholarship to Berklee where he studied Music Performance and Education. Munday spent six+ years in the Boston/New York area performing with a variety of musicians. He soon hit the road playing music and found his way back home.

While at Berklee, he studied with Matthew Garrison, son of John Coltrane’s bass player Jimmy Garrison, and musician with Herbie Handcock, Chaka Khan, and Whitney Houston, who gave Munday his first private lessons. Another mentor, Jetro Da Silva, pianist for Whitney Houston, challenged Munday to pursue singing after noticing his unique vocal abilities.

Munday notices that “the blues is present in all of the music I do.” For example, in regards to jazz, “early jazz, regardless of all the notes and all the chords can be broken down to the point where it’s blues.” With that awareness in mind, he believes blues resonates strongly with all audiences. His music characteristically is “soul that harmonically has a core in blues.”

Munday has authored original material including, “Remember My Name”, “The Quiet Room”, “I Tried So Hard”, and “Last Time We Say Goodbye”. He interweaves his original material throughout his act which includes songs such as the Stevie Wonder penned, BB King hit, “To Know You is to Love You”. He performs several other covers from artists such as, but not limited to, Etta James, Otis Redding, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Bill Withers, and Terence Trent D’Arby.

He would like to be remembered as “someone who made people feel good and made the world a better place.” Quoting from the Sermon on the Mount, he wishes to do good in order to “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16.) Munday is a deep-thinking and reflective musician who cherishes personal spiritual strength. His music is no exception.

Munday can be reached at shaunmunday.com and you can listen to him on iTunes and Spotify. - Blues Society of the Ozarks Bluesletter