Roderick "REV" Paulin

Every generation redefines their music, whether it’s how they play or rewrite songs, bend the notes a little differently or figure out new patterns. Reaching back to their roots, they build on thecustoms that they heard live or on the airwaves, and sometimes they even create a new genre. 

Early bands marching in parades for social aid and pleasure clubs, church parades, and funerals laid down a template of reverence and dignity that was respected by traditional jazz musicians and especially by anyone that ever worked in Doc Paulin’s Brass Band. Ernest “Doc” Paulin, a trumpeter and bandleader who led brass bands on the streets of New Orleans for over seventy years, was widely known for creating bands that included family members and also many young musicians just starting their musical careers, such as Dr. Michael White, Gregg Stafford, and Donald Harrison, Jr. Paulin insisted that musicians in his bands adhere to strict professional standards both on and off the stage.That was the atmosphere that the Paulin boys grew up with, learning to play and learning how to present themselves properly for various musical functions.The Paulin family of musicians embodied the true essence of New Orleans culture. Reaching back to the ancestors of traditional New Orleans music wasn’t a far stretch for members of the family. They were immersed in the musical culture of this city from the time they were born through their father, born in 1907, who carried on the brass band tradition by including his sons Aaron (bass drum), Dwayne (trombone), Phillip (trumpet), Scott (trombone), Rickey (clarinet), and Roderick (saxophone) in his band. 

Roderick, the youngest of six siblings that played music in a family of thirteen kids, started playing professionally at the early age of ten. He was pressed into service by his dad at the last minute as a substitute in the Doc Paulin Brass Band on Mardi Gras Day 1979.

Roderick went on to become one of the top students of the highly accomplished pianist, composer, and arranger Roger Dickerson. Paulin was also taught and trained by Edward “Kidd” Jordan, the avant-garde saxophonist, composer, and chairman of the jazz studies program at SUNO (Southern University of New Orleans). 

Roderick “Rev” Paulin’s résumé includes musical collaborations with artists and bands including Harry Connick, Jr., Aaron Neville, Allen Toussaint, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis’ Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Troy Andrews aka Trombone Shorty, Rebirth Brass Band, Davell Crawford, John Legend, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Christian McBride, The Grateful Dead, PJ Morton, The Brand New Heavies, The Afghan Whigs, and his own band The Congregation. 

Another one of Doc and Betty Paulin’s sons, Rickey, who was well known for his skills on the clarinet, played traditional jazz, mostly on the streets of the French Quarter in his later years, until he passed away at the age of 59 in 2019. He was also well known and loved by the Corner Club, a walking club whose annual parade on Mardi Gras Day always included the Paulin Brothers Brass Band.

Soon after losing his brother Rickey, Roderick Paulin picked up a clarinet and started “squeakin’ and squawkin” (as his mama Betty Paulin would say). Drawing from his roots with his legendary family band, Roderick, a well known sax player, continued on his musical journey through performance, academic achievement (Roderick received his Masters Degree in Jazz Studies at Louisiana State University in 2022 and is a PHD Music Education candidate). He also hosts a New Orleans music radio show on KSDS 88.3FM San Diego, California, and is Director of Jazz Studies at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

Through his retrospection, he revised some familiar standard tunes and rearranged them for his debut clarinet recording, honoring the tradition that he grew up with by learning it and living it. He also composed an original tune, “Squeakin’ and Squawkin’”,  an ode to his mama Miss Betty Paulin’s objection over having to listen to a beginner clarinetist’s screeching sounds all over again, like she did for her son Rickey.

This collection of music featuring the clarinet is dedicated to Roderick’s late brother Rickey Paulin, Sr. (1959- 2019), clarinetist for Doc Paulin’s Brass Band, the Paulin Brothers Brass Band, the Pinstripe Brass Band, Tuba Fats’ Chosen Few, and the Jackson Square Allstars.