Tim Laughlin [LOCK-lin] has been tabbed "The Swinging Son of New Orleans." He determined early in his career that he wanted to separate himself from other clarinet players, deciding the best way to do that was not to play higher, faster or louder, but to take a quieter, more melodic approach.
Tim favors tunes with a degree of difficulty and humor. "Tone is the biggest thing to embrace and being able to make proper use of space. It's important to tell a story, to have a lively conversation with fellow musicians fluent in a shared language."
He also opted to write original songs for the 21st century. "I began writing in the early '90s and enjoyed the results. It wasn't so much a matter of trying to change or recreate the New Orleans sound, but to have these tunes reflect how New Orleans bands played them over the past 75 years. I wanted what I composed to be representative of the city where I have lived all my life. This is a happy, joyful place. New Orleans is a state of mind. We're not in a big hurry, and we love people. The music reflects that. It's about the ensemble, dance music, and movement."
One of the dozen or so CDs Tim has recorded is The Isle of Orleans that was released in 2003. He was the first recent New Orleans clarinetist to produce an album of all original tunes, backed by a band that includes Connie Jones, Hal Smith, Lucien Barbarin, Jason Marsalis, Tom McDer
