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

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi Marek et al,

Most of the guys in Fat Sam's Band were of  my age group, so they did call 
me Kenny. Come to think of it, that might be why I left the band!

Cheers,

Ken

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marek Boym" <marekboym at gmail.com>
To: "Ken Mathieson" <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2012 9:40 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: What's in a Name? (was Swing 2012)


>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
>
>
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