By Tod Smith
There are jazz musicians who learn to play the music and there are jazz musicians who are simply born to play the music. Tim Laughlin was definitely born to play. Starting at the age of nine, Laughlin's professional career has taken him from Mardi Gras floats in the Crescent City, to performances as far away as New Zealand and Amsterdam. All the while, it's his passion for the sounds of New Orleans that keeps him exploring and developing musically. His is a distinctly New Orleans sound - a collage of techniques, sounds and intonations carefully crafted to become something new and different, something he can call his own.
"That's what jazz musicians should really attain to - getting their sound," Laughlin said recently. "(Pete) Fountain told me, 'get your sound first, because you've got the rest of your life to work on technique.' And when I thought about it, damn it, he's right."
So Laughlin works extremely hard at understanding the origins of New Orleans music and how what he has learned impacts his own playing. "What I basically did was pick five favorite players and I took a little bit from each. So what quality do I like about this guy? I don't have to take everything - and I kind of put it in my own playing. It's just like a gumbo or any recipe - as long as the ingredients are fresh; it's going to come out good. So I took the best qualities of those five players and made them part of my own. Most of them are swing players more than sweeter players - like Fountain, Goodman, Kenny Davern, Bob Wilber and Jack Mayhew. And put Connie Jones with that - just for his ideas, his lyrical lines and the platinum notes he hits that just aren't on any piano."
Even before meeting his childhood hero Pete Fountain, Laughlin knew he wanted to turn his passion for music into a profession. After leading his own group around the clubs and parties that make up the New Orleans music scene, Laughlin was asked to join the world renowned Dukes of Dixieland, a stint that lasted seven years and produced four albums and a performance at Carnegie Hall. It was during these formative years, that Laughlin began to understand and embrace the nuances and intricacies of New Orleans traditional jazz and those of the clarinet as well.
"It's such a unique instrument. I always looked at it, as there were so many great sax players, but very few really good clarinet players. It's a really difficult instrument. That's another reason I stuck with it. I never wanted to say what if, I like to say, "what the hell!" What have I got to lose?"
As Laughlin continued to develop his sound, it became increasingly evident that he would chose paths not often traveled before him. "Straight Ahead," his recent collaboration with modern jazz artists including pianist Peter Martin, demonstrates this individual style and commitment to his own sound.
He says, "One of the reasons I wanted to do it (was), okay here's a clarinet player from New Orleans. But wait! That doesn't sound like a clarinet player from New Orleans. Ah ha! What does that mean? Just because I was born at Touro Hospital (New Orleans hospital), does it mean that I have to have vibrato you can drive a truck through? The funny part about that album - which I expected, that I was ready for - was the reaction of the traditional people; because to them, that album proves that I'm schizophrenic. 'What is he trying to do? You're not a modern player!' I know I'm not, I don't consider myself anything. I don't play categories I play clarinet. C'mon folks, let's get out of the category business and concentrate on the music."
While many musicians strive to sound like the masters of the music, Laughlin understands that future masters must understand the traditions, but resist the temptation to merely imitate their work. "I want to separate myself from the other players. The only way I'm going to do that is to be creative. Not to 'out-technique' them or blow louder, higher, faster - anybody can do that. But to actually be unique and creative and write your own music and to think of things that the other guys aren't. You're going to separate yourself and I think a lot of guys are jealous of that in town. They want the credit, but they don't want to pay the dues," he explains.
As more and more young musicians turn to traditional New Orleans jazz as a means of musical self-expression, Laughlin sees the need for increased education about the history of the music. "I had two of them (kids) that really wanted to play it, but they don't know how to play melody. They just want to play a solo. They think they know the chords, but they really don't - they don't know the melody. And you don't know the words. Horn players should listen to singers and singers should listen to horn players. That's what all the great ones did - Ella (Fitzgerald), Sinatra, Nat Cole, you know and horn players listen to singers. It's simple rules like that that they don't want to do and they're not teachingÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
New Orleans jazz is about the ensemble. Chicago jazz is about soloists."
On the horizon, Laughlin is planning his ninth solo album, a collection of originals penned in the traditional New Orleans-style. With names like "Suburban Street Parade" and "March of the Uncle Bubbies," this album will continue to stretch the boundaries of traditional jazz, just as some of his other works have done in the past. His passions for playing music and performing provide the fuel for this innovation. Despite the fact that their contemporaries often overlook true innovators, Laughlin sees fame as a means to an end.
"My only ambition to becoming famous is number one, people will pronounce my name correctly and they'll know what a clarinet is. When I played at the Maple Leaf, with the drummer from Phish - I walked out on the break and this young little Gen Xer - you know twenty year-old, said 'Great oboe.' I said, "Thank you - I think."
Tim Laughlin can be heard around New Orleans and the world. Check out his website at www.timlaughlin.com. Until next time, see you 'Round About New Orleans.
