Hunting Wabbits 2 (A Bad Hare Day): Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score & Parts

Goodwin writes with genuine humor and musicality rather than irony. The funky, straight-eighths groove demands precision from your section leaders while remaining fun enough to keep players engaged through multiple rehearsals. The flexible instrumentation means you can program this whether you have full strings and doubles or a stripped-down sax section, and the solo opportunities distributed across saxophones, trumpets, and trombones keep everyone invested.

A carnival of straight-eighths funk wrapped in clever orchestration and humor. The piece grooves hard while maintaining the sophistication of Goodwin's film and television scoring background, delivering both the laugh-out-loud charm of its title and the musical substance that makes it worth serious rehearsal.

Advanced jazz ensembles with strong soloists and section discipline. This chart rewards groups that have already solidified their fundamentals and are ready for real harmonic sophistication and rhythmic precision at a commercial level.

• Lock the groove in the rhythm section first. The straight-eighths funk feel requires the drums and bass to establish a unified pocket; without that anchor, the ensemble will float over the changes rather than sit in them.
• Balance the woodwind doublings carefully. When saxes double onto woodwinds, the doubling parts should reinforce color without muddying the lead voice. Rehearse those sections as one unit to ensure blend.
• Map out the solo order before rehearsal week. With solos distributed across all saxes, trumpet four, and trombones one and two, assign specific players to their moments so they have time to prepare and listen for their cues in context.
• Shape the melodic moments with intent. The tongue-in-cheek arrangement lives in specific phrase gestures and dynamic choices; too much stiffness kills the character, but too much looseness loses the jazz polish Goodwin's writing demands.

Reserve this for a concert slot where your ensemble can let loose and showcase personality alongside chops. It works brilliantly as a closer or as the centerpiece of a concert that otherwise leans toward standards, giving your audience a taste of contemporary big band arranging and your soloists a moment to shine.

• Reading and playing straight-eighths jazz feels with precision and pocket
• Negotiating flexible instrumentation and doublings within a section
• Solo improvisation over modern jazz changes with harmonic awareness
• Balancing ensemble clarity while maintaining funk and groove
• Responding to detailed articulation and dynamic markings that shape musical character