An early interest in jazz prompted Munch to take up the saxophone at the age of ten. In his teens the late great alto saxophonist Ronnie Asperey taught him and by the age of 18 Munch was working as a professional musician on the Mecca Ballroom circuit. His first Mecca gig was with the Gene Mayo Orchestra at the Top Of The World Ballroom Stafford. He then joined the Eric Delaney Big Band and toured the U.K. extensively. After a brief spell in London he returned north and started working around the Manchester area in the early 1970s.

 

He played for the First House Group nightclub Blighty's in Manchester, where the support band had the good fortune to work with American jazz stars such as Thelonius Monk, Oscar Peterson Trio, Stan Kenton Big Band, Cannonball Adderley, Woody Herman and his Herd and Saleena Jones and a host of other stars. Pursuing his freelance career in the 1980s he toured Europe with artists such as Lou Rawls, Johnny Mathis, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Jack Jones, Shirley Bassey, Roy Orbison and a host of other great artistes.

 

He has been in constant demand as a session musician on saxophones, flute and clarinet and was a regular player in the BBC Northern Radio Orchestra in Manchester where he played for various radio and TV shows. He has also played for Ronnie Hazlehurst, Alan Ainsworth, and Sir Charles Groves and has also played with the original Sid Lawrence Orchestra and The BBC Radio Big Band. He was also in the orchestra for The Granada TV Bafta Awards for many years.

 

He has made regular appearances on saxophones with the Hallé Orchestra, adding his finely crafted skills to performances of Ravel's Bolero (tenor & soprano saxophone), which was recorded and broadcast by Granada Television, Mussorgsky's, Pictures at an Exhibition (alto saxophone solo), George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess (lead alto) and Sir Michael Tippett's  A Mask of Time (soprano & alto saxophones).

 

He has performed as a professional theatre musician in such shows as the Broadway touring version of West Side Story, Cats, Phantom Of The Opera, Charlie Girl, Stephen Sondheim's world premiere of Follies, Annie, Chicago, Merrily We Roll Along, Anne Frank, Goodnight Mr Tom, Chorus Line, Evita, Barnum, A Little Night Music, Sweet Charity, Blood Brothers, Cheeky Chappie, Pajama Game, Guys and Dolls and many more.

 

Munch is firmly established as one of the most sought after soloists in jazz clubs throughout the country both as a guest artist and fronting his own bands. His strong muscular sound on the tenor saxophone has held its own along side many international stars such as Ronnie Scott, Bobby Shew, Dusko Goykovich, Victor Mendoza, Jim Bruno, Jim Mullen and John Etheridge. He was also in the support band, which played along side the alto saxophone legend Art Pepper at the Hammersmith and Fulham Jazz festival.