Living Extra Large: 8 Clarinets, Piano, Bass & Drums Conductor Score & Parts

This is Fischer at his best: a driving big band arrangement that uses augmented scale language to create melodic and harmonic interest without sacrificing groove. The eight-clarinet voicing gives the piece its own identity within the jazz big band tradition, and the interaction between the clarinet section and the rhythm section demands real listening and responsiveness from everyone on the bandstand.

Propulsive and smart. The piece has the forward momentum of a swinging big band, but the augmented scale vocabulary and harmonic shifts keep it modern and slightly off-balance, in the best way. It swings hard while keeping everyone thinking.

College jazz ensembles and advanced high school jazz programs looking for substantial clarinet section literature. This is repertoire for musicians who can read jazz changes with fluency and listen actively within an ensemble, not a training piece.

• Shape the augmented scale passages with intentional articulation. They're intervallic snapshots; the clarity of each note shapes how the listener hears the harmonic movement underneath.
• Keep the rhythm section locked and driving. Piano, bass, and drums form the engine here; soloists depend on their stability to navigate the harmonic surprises.
• Balance the eight-clarinet sound so the top voices cut through without the section becoming shrill. This takes individual dynamic control and blend work in sectional rehearsals.
• Encourage soloists to respond to the harmonic changes rather than anticipate them. Fischer's 'subtle' shifts aren't passive; they're terrain to explore in real time.

Program this as a centerpiece in a jazz concert, ideally alongside more traditional big band material to highlight what Fischer brings to the clarinet family sound. It works well late in the set when the ensemble has warmed up and is ready for harmonic sophistication.

• Reading and interpreting augmented scale passages in jazz context
• Harmonic listening and navigation of non-diatonic changes
• Blending and balancing within a large clarinet section
• Soloing over moving harmonic backgrounds
• Ensemble interdependence in jazz rhythm section playing