Charles Robert Munro was a jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 reedist and flautist born in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 but based chiefly out of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Munro moved to Sydney when he was 21, and played in the bands of Myer Norman and Wally Parks

Wally Parks

Wallace Gordon Parks was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport. He was the Founder, President, and the Chairman of the Board of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA...

 in addition to work as a sideman on various nightclub, theater, and ship gigs. He served in the military during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, then worked with Wally Norman at the Roosevelt nightclub in Sydney. He played with Bob Gibson in 1950, then joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission's dance band in 1954, continuing to work with the group through 1976 as a composer, performer, and arranger. He worked extensively with Bryce Rohde

Bryce Rohde

Bryce Benno Rohde is an Australian jazz pianist and composer. He was strongly influenced by George Russell's musical conceptions....

 in the 1960s, participating in many of Rohde's Australian jazz

Australian jazz

Jazz music has a long history in Australia. Over the years jazz has held a high profile at local clubs, festivals and other music venues and a vast number of recordings have been produced by Australian jazz musicians, many of whom have gone on to gain a high profile in the international jazz...

 experiments. He led his own bands toward the end of his career, and also worked with Georgina de Leon.

Discography as leader

• Eastern Horizons (1967)
• Count Down (1969)
• Integrations (1981)

Further reading

• Andrew Bisset
  Andrew Bisset
  Andrew Bisset was an Australian author, music educator and singer, based in Canberra.- Author :Andrew Bisset was particularly noted for his excellent book Black Roots White Flowers - A History of Jazz in Australia, which traces jazz influences and performances from the early days of visiting...
  
  : Black Roots, White Flowers: a History of Jazz in Australia (1979; revised 1987)
• B. Johnson: The Oxford Companion to Australian Jazz (1987)
• J. Clare: Bodgie Dada and the Cult of Cool (1995)
• W. Bebbington: The Oxford Companion to Australian Music (1997)
• J. Whiteoak: Playing ad lib: Improvisatory Music in Australia, 1836–1970 (1999)