[Dixielandjazz] Fw: What's in a Name? (was Swing 2012)

[Marek Boym]

I cannot be sure just now, but I am almost certain that they announced
"Kenny Mathieson" when I heard you with Fat Sam's Band.
Cheers

On 1 August 2012 22:20, Ken Mathieson <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk> wrote:
> I sent this to DJML on July 31 but so far it hasn't appeared, so here goes
> again:
>
> Hi Marek et al,
>
> Marek wrote:
> If you'd like to know how they sound, trytheir website below.  They
> also give critics' opinion - and quote listmate Ken.
> Whatever happened to all these people?  Johnny Dankworth became a
> formal John, Johnny Russell - ditto, and Kenny has become Ken.
> Same name?  Sure, but is it a reflection of attitude?
>
> I know all the Swing 2000 -and-whatever-it-is guys very well. Indeed Dick
> Lee and Roy Percy are members of my Classic Jazz Orchestra, while I've
> worked with John Russell and Steven Coutts often over the years. The local
> musos like to tease them about choosing a dumb name that requires them to
> reprint all their stationery and re-brand their PR every year. However I
> have to correct you about my having written a review of them. No matter how
> much I like them as people and love their music, I never write reviews of
> any fellow musicians. The review in question was written by a
> journalist-author called Kenny Mathieson who is no relation, plays no
> instrument and the sound you can hear in the background is that of a can of
> worms being opened!
>
> On almost a daily basis, I get mistaken for my namesake and congratulated or
> lambasted for his reviews in the press. It's even more complicated than him
> being Kenny and me being Ken: when I started playing semi-professionally 55
> years ago, everyone in the business called me Kenny and that's how I still
> am to the musos from that era who are still around. When I was around 20, my
> natural torpor set in and I decided to lose a syllable and become just Ken.
> Much later on, Kenny (the other one) came on the scene writing reviews,
> books etc and instant confusion arose. Colleagues who knew the difference
> started calling me "Tall Slim" and the other one "Short Fat" but to this day
> the confusion continues. I know Kenny quite well and have nothing against
> him, but some of his more critical reviews have caused me problems with
> musicians who assume the Scottish Jazz scene is too small to have 2 people
> of the same name and that I've taken to slagging people off in print.
>
> So, in my case, I'm Kenny to the older musos, Ken to friends, younger musos
> and at home, and Kenneth to my brother and cousins, so it's not a reflection
> of attitude, more the impact of life in its different stages. At least I
> didn't call myself Ken-1983 'way back!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Tall Slim