Howard Frye and me : Reminiscenses of a Mandolin Great

Howard Frye has been gone for over 30 years. Mandolinists still speak of him in glowing terms. His Gypsy Mandolin recording still sells well after three decades on the market. When I write or speak about Howard, people react with keen anticipation. As a long-time friend of his, it’s satisfying. But one must be amazed that a person who hardly accomplished all he could with the mandolin still maintains such impact on musical life. Ergo, a book. There are two reasons for this book. First, mandolin people are notorious about ignoring their history or letting it get lost for all time. My interest in mandolin history induces me to present at least a partial record of someone who made such marks in his field. Though I have no pretensions about this being a biography, I trust it will provide some new material in mandolin history. Second, I probably knew Howard as well as anyone outside his family and thus feel qualified to take on the task. I constantly tell people that any personal contributions to mandolin come from two people on my shoulders who push me onward, Howard and our mutual teacher, Luigi Paparello. So the book is obviously one built on admiration. But writers must be honest. Ergo, the book is objective. My first bit of honesty is to make sure that people who read the title are conscious of which one, Howard or me, is the “Mandolin Great.” If you have any doubts, this book’s definitely for you.