Tim Laughlin was born and raised in New Orleans and began playing clarinet at nine years old, inspired by Pete Fountain, whom he later befriended and performed alongside. He was playing his first gig on a Mardi Gras float at fifteen and joined the musicians union soon after, studying with and performing beside mentors such as Danny Barker and Al Hirt. Jazz Times Magazine placed him among the best of the younger generation of New Orleans clarinetists, noting his lineage from Roppolo through Fazola through Fountain.
His 2003 album The Isle of Orleans — the first album of all-original music ever recorded by a New Orleans clarinetist — drew wide praise for demonstrating that traditional jazz could embrace fresh repertoire without losing its essential character. He has toured Europe repeatedly, performed at the French Quarter Festival and Satchmo Summerfest, and in 2009 helped open the Blue Room at the Roosevelt Hotel alongside Pete Fountain.
