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Larry Combs (born 31 December 1939) is an American clarinetist and educator.

Principal clarinet for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1978 to 2008.
Founding member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians.
A prodigy on the instrument, Combs was used by Charleston Symphony as fill-in clarinetist at age 13 and its principal clarinetist by 16. Also former principal clarinetist for New Orleans Philharmonic and Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

Combs also plays jazz with his own Combs-Novak Sextet and headlined the 1999 Chicago Jazz Festival.

Inducted, 2009, to West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

ALBUMS


George Flynn - Larry Combs, Katherine Hughes, Peter Szczepanek, Stuart Leitch, Heather O'Donnell
Remembering (Solo And Chamber Music By George Flynn)
2013, CD, Album, Southport Records
Larry Combs, Gail Williams, Mary Ann Covert
Rochberg Schuller Rozsa
2005, CD, Crystal Records (5)
Larry Combs, Eddie Daniels
Crossing The Line
2004, CD, Album, Summit Records (3)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Clark Brody / Dale Clevenger / Larry Combs / Edward Druzinsky / Willard Elliot / Joseph Golan / Adolph Herseth / Frank Miller (3) / Charles Pikler / Grover Schiltz / James Ross (16) / Ray Still / John Bruce Yeh
Soloists Of The Orchestra II
2001, 2xCD, RM, S/Edition, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Richard Strauss, Clevenger* • Combs* • Klein* • McGill*, Daniel Barenboim, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Wind Concertos
2001
The Chicago Clarinet Trio, Larry Combs, Julie DeRoche, John Bruce Yeh
Works by Bouffil, Mihalovici, Zonn, Sandroff, and Prinz
1998, CD, Helicon Records (3)
The Chicago Chamber Musicians, Larry Combs, Bradley Opland, Deborah Sobol
The American Clarinet: Music of Copland Bernstein Gershwin Gould
1994, CD, Summit Records (3)
Larry Combs
Orchestral Excerpts For Clarinet (With Spoken Commentary)
1994, CD, Summit Records (3)
Manuel De Falla, Elliott Carter, Ilja Hurník, Domenick Argento*, Rembrandt Chamber Players with Larry Combs, Patrice Michaels Bedi*
20th Century Baroque: Modern Reflections On Old Instruments
1992, CD, Album, Cedille Records
Larry Combs, Deborah Sobol, Brahms* / Scriabin* / Prokofieff*
Clarinet Transcriptions
1991, CD, Album, Summit Records (3)
Larry Combs, Gail Williams, Mary Ann Covert
Rochberg Schuller Rozsa
1986, LP, Crystal Records (5),
DePaul University Wind Ensemble*, Donald DeRoche*, Larry Combs
Untitled
CD, Albany Records
John Harbison - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Emily Lodine, The Chicago Chamber Musicians
Chamber Music
2006, CD, Naxos
Gail Williams
Horn Muse
CD, Not On Label (Gail Williams Self-released)
The Chicago Chamber Musicians
Highlights From CCM's First Ten Years 1986-1996 Volume II
CD, Not On Label
The Chicago Chamber Musicians
Chamber Works For Winds And Strings By Mozart
CD, Summit Records (3)

APPEARANCES +


Beethoven* - Perlman* · Zukerman* · Barenboim* · Du Pré* · Harrell* · De Peyer*
The Violin Sonatas, Cello Sonatas, String Trios & Piano Trios
2019, 11xCD, RM + Box, Comp, Warner Classics
Laura Elise Schwendinger
High Wire Acts
2013, CD, Centaur Records
The Mangione Brothers Sextet & Quintet*
The Jazz Brothers - Hey Baby! - Spring Fever
2011, 2xCD, Comp, Fresh Sound Records,
Chicago Clarinet Trio*
Plays Anweiler / Raimi / McCabe / Combs / Mora
2010, CD, Album, Albany Records
Brahms*, The Chicago Chamber Musicians
Brahms
2010, CD, Summit Records (3)
George Flynn
American City (Wind Ensemble, Orchestral And Choral Music By George Flynn)
2009, CD, Album, Southport Records
Shostakovich*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Shostakovich 4
2008, CD, Album + DVD-V, CSO Resound
Mahler*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Symphony No. 6 In A Minor
2008, 2x CD, ,
Romantic
Bruckner*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Symphony No. 7 in E Major
2007, SACD, Multichannel, Dir, CSO Resound
Mahler*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, Michelle DeYoung
Symphony No. 3
2007, 2xCD, Album, CSO Resound, ,
Romantic
George Flynn
American Rest
2002, CD, Southport Records
The American Saxophone Quartet*
The Commission Project
2002, CD, Album, Sons Of Sound Recorded Music
Eastman Wind Ensemble, Donald Hunsberger
Eastman Wind Ensemble At 50
2002, 3xHDCD, Comp, Warner Bros. Publications
Daniel Barenboim
Música De Las Américas
2002, 3xCD, Album, RE + Box, Comp, Teldec Classics International
Patrice Michaels
Introducing Patrice Michaels
2000, CD, Comp, Smplr, Cedille Records
Daniel Barenboim
Brazilian Rhapsody
2000, CD, Promo, Teldec
Daniel Barenboim
Brazilian Rhapsody
2000, CD, ,
Samba/Bossanova
Daniel Barenboim And Guests*
Tribute To Ellington
1999, CD, ,
Smooth Jazz/Big Band/Swing
Brahms*, Vengerov* / Barenboim*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Violin Concerto / Sonata No. 3
1999
Georges Auric / Joseph Canteloube / Jean Françaix / Jacques Ibert / Darius Milhaud / Paul Pierné / Alexandre Tansman - The Chicago Chamber Musicians
20th Century French Wind Trios
1998, CD, Cedille Records, ,
Modern/Contemporary
The Chicago Jazz Ensemble*
The Chicago Jazz Ensemble
1997
Dominick Argento, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Patrice Michaels Bedi*
To Be Sung On The Water - Song Cycles By Dominick Argento
1996, CD, Cedille Records, ,
Contemporary
Berlioz* - Plácido Domingo*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Symphonie Fantastique / La Marseillaise
1996
Carter* / Berio* / Takemitsu* - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Partita · Continuo · Visions
1995, CD, Teldec, ,
Contemporary
David Diamond (2) - The Chicago Chamber Musicians
Chamber Music
1995, CD, Album, Cedille Records
Wagner*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Barenboim*
Overtures And Preludes
1995, CD, ,
Romantic
Arnold Schönberg*, Daniel Barenboim, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Verklärte Nacht Op. 4 / Piano Pieces Op. 11 & 19 / Five Orchestral Pieces Op. 16
1995
Barenboim*, Beethoven* - Mozart*
Beethoven - Mozart - Quintets
1994, CD, Album, Club, Erato, Erato
Rimsky-Korsakov*, Samuel Magad, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Scheherazade / Tsar Saltan
1993, CD, ,
Romantic
Richard Strauss, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Eine Alpensinfonie / Die Frau Ohne Schatten
1993, CD, ,
Modern/Neo-Romantic
Richard Strauss, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche Op. 28 / Ein Heldenleben Op. 40
1991, CD, ,
Modern/Romantic
Corigliano* - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Symphony No. 1
1991, CD, ,
Neo-Romantic/Contemporary
Barber* / Nielsen* / Hindemith*
Summer Music For Woodwind Quintet / Woodwind Quintet / Octet For Winds & Strings
1990
Ruth Crawford Seeger
Music By Ruth Crawford Seeger
1988, LP, RE, Musical Heritage Society,
Mozart*, Members of the Chicago Symphony Winds*
Music For Basset Horns
1986
Mozart* / Grieg*, Chicago Symphony Winds
Serenade No. 11 / Four Lyric Pieces
1983
Gloria Gaynor
I've Got You
1976, Vinyl All Disc Press, ,
Disco/Soul
Mozart* - Pablo Casals, The Marlboro Festival Orchestra*, Alexander Schneider / Rudolf Serkin
Mozart Serenades: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik / Wind Serenade No. 12
1970
Various
The Soul Of Jazz - 1961
1961, Vinyl,
Mangione Brothers Sextet*
Struttin' With Sandra
1960, 7", Mono, Riverside Records
The Mangione Brothers Sextet
The Jazz Brothers
1960
Gap Mangione Sextet*
Struttin' With Sandra
7", Single, Styrene, Mannco, Mannco
Carl Nielsen, Carl Maria von Weber
Woodwind Quintet, Op. 43 / Clarinet Quintet in Bb Major, Op. 34
LP, Comp, Marlboro Recording Society,
Kelsey Jones (2), The Tudor Singers Of Montreal, The Pro Arte Wind Quintet*
Wind Quintet / The Prophecy Of Micah
LP, Radio Canada International
Johannes Brahms, Daniel Barenboim
Ein Deutsches Requiem
Various
Forest
2003, 4xCD, Comp, Warner Music Japan,