# Music by Genre > Orchestral, Classical, Italian, Medieval, Renaissance >  Tell me more about Giovanni Vicari

## D.Martin

In recent months I've fell more and more in love with the music of Giovanni Vicari and have been transcribing his tunes and listening to his recordings over and over so it got me thinking about reaching out to those here on the forum who were fortunate enough to study with him. 

If you'd be willing to share your experiences, I would love to know in your words what he was like as a teacher? 

What are some of the major takeaways you got from him as a teacher/mentor that heavily influenced your playing/progress? Things he emphasized in his teaching?

What kind of man was he? What was he like?

Any other particularly memorable stories or anecdotes of your time with him you'd like to share?

I have become such a fan of this man's music and as there is little information about him online I though this might be a nice way to share information about him. I have no idea how many people here might have studied with him. How I would have loved to been able to meet him and hear him play in person. Luckily in this era we have recordings. 

Thank you in advance!

Doug

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DavidKOS

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## D.Martin

Also what was his main axe?

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## mandopops

Hello Doug,
I was a student of Mr. Vicari and I have nothing but positive comments about him as a Person, Player & Teacher. I may have to put this into a couple of replies while I ruminate on my thoughts.

As a person he was proud, warm, & generous. As a player he had the "chops" and was soulful & playful. As a teacher he was demanding and patient.

Major takeaways, he was open to all kinds of Music, if played well. He was not concerned with flash over feeling. He was always aware of the little details, timing,pick direction, fingering,etc.. I still hear him in my head w/ his Italian accent "Up-a Pick, down-a pick".

He could play "Classical"  and he loved Jazz and loved to improvise. Even when I would be working on a simple finger exercise or Etudes he would improvise his 2nd part. He would be disappointed if I couldn't hold my part, he'd say "When you make-a mistakes I can't make-up my parts, I have to play with you." He played gigs w/ his DeAngelico Guitar w/ a DeArmond Pick-up.  

He had a bunch of Instruments, but his main Mandolin was one of those old 2-Point round sound hole Martins. I think I might have posted an autographed picture of him with his Martin. 

I will come up with a little background on him and a couple of stories. I'll try and keep it simple, but I truly loved my time with him.

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DavidKOS

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## D.Martin

Thank you Mandopops! That is just the kind of info I am looking for! Any other bits you can remember are helpful for getting some insight into this musical hero. Hopefully others will chime in as well.

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## mandopops

A bit of Mr. Vicari's history as I remember it from his stories.This was a long time ago (1979-82 or so) that I took lessons.

He was from Catania , Sicily. He said he got started in Music because his brother was taking Mandolin lessons, and one day his parents came into the house and heard the Mandolin plucking. They assumed it was the brother practicing his lessons. They peeked over the couch and it was little Giovanni w/ the Mandolin copying what he had heard his brother playing. He said he figured by moving his fingers up and down, he could make the notes go up & down. He was 3 or 4 years old. Well, the parents figured they had a prodigy on their hands. 

He always considered Mandolin his first instrument, but his studies began as a Violin student. That meant 6 months of Solfeggio studies,without an instrument, standing pretending to hold a Violin, and sight reading. He said he thought that was the best way to start, but you couldn't do that in America. People would think you were stealing their money. They want you to teach them songs. 

Time when on and somewhere in his early teens (12-13?), he was 1st Violin in a Sicilian Opera Co. Apparently he did some touring because I saw a picture of him as a lad on a Camel in the desert. What I'd give for that picture. One time he did tell me he could not play "Ball" like the other kids, in fear of hurting his hands. A tinge of sadness, but no serious regrets.

He was hearing Jazz sounds from the U.S. He said he got some local maker to fashion some kind of a Banjo from a drum head and form the 1st Jazz band in Sicily. (?) OK then.

Well, it was figured he had to come to America, so it was arranged. He had some kind of sponsor who got him to stand somewhere in the Music areas of New York with his Instrument cases, Violin,Mandolin,Banjo... At some point some asked if he could play those instruments. He said yes. The rest is history.

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DavidKOS

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## Jim Garber

> In recent months I've fell more and more in love with the music of Giovanni Vicari and have been transcribing his tunes and listening to his recordings over and over so it got me thinking about reaching out to those here on the forum who were fortunate enough to study with him.


I did not know anything about him when I moved to New York in the 1970s but there were a few members of the New York Mandolin Orchestra who took lessons from him.

What recordings have you heard of his? There are not too many available except on a few compilations, notably Italian String Virtuosi, two from Global Village records and some from Randy Osborne.

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## D.Martin

The only recordings I have of him are on the Italian String Virtuosi (as you mentioned) as well as the compilation albums Speranze Perdute and Birichino have cuts of him. I also have the latin music album under the name Juan Vicari. I believe ALL these titles are available at itunes now. Which ones are the Randy Osbourne records? I'll have to look into those. Thanks!

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## Jim Garber

Randy's site is finefretted.com   I think there is only one Vicari cut per CD.

GE21

GE26

There are two other CDs but neither have Vicari cuts. 

As Mandopops knows (and will nodoubt remind me) I have two OOP LPs of Vicari stuff both of which feature his playing (as opposed to some of the orchestra stuff which he has solos but other instrumentalists. One of these days i will figure out how to work my USB turntable and those will be my first project.

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## brunello97

> .I have two OOP LPs of Vicari stuff both of which feature his playing (as opposed to some of the orchestra stuff which he has solos but other instrumentalists. One of these days i will figure out how to work my USB turntable and those will be my first project.


Domani, domani. Sempre domani.   :Wink: 

Mick

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## mandopops

I will post another Vicari story tomorrow or Saturday. In the mean time Mick (brunello97) & I will drive out from the midwest to show Jim how to use that new-fangled machine of his to get the Vicari recordings.

Watch out, Jim, we'll be knockin' at your door. 

I actually have a few tunes on tape of Giovanni and I. They are just a couple things we recorded at our lessons.

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## Jim Garber

You are welcome, pops and mick... I'll get the teakettle going. I would love to hear some of the lesson tunes. This would give me inspiration to set up my turntable.

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## mandopops

A little bit more on Mr. Vicari,

Backing up a bit.

 I lived(live) in the Chicago area. So before I moved to New York I took lessons from Jethro. I was a complete novice, so Jethro got me doing beginning scales & chords. Then started me on my way. He would show me something & put it down on a cassette.  I would go home and work on it for awhile. Then I'd go back for more. Very informal, but it was great. A super experience. More than I expected. I am forever grateful & I'm glad I took the lessons. He was equally a master and generous. 

I just set this up because my time w/ Giovanni was quite different. I wanted to keep taking lessons because I was in New York & was getting gigs. I knew I needed help. I got his number & thought this was going to be some heavy duty "Classical" guy, and this might be kind of stale. (Compared to Jethro which was totally fun). So, I called and told him I wanted lessons, but didn't know if I wanted to study "Classical". He said," I don't teach-a Classical. I teach-a Music & Mandolin. If you know-a Music & Mandolin, you can-a play what ever you want." I was sold.

I knew it would require learning to read Music. I was willing to bite the bullet and try. Jethro once said he read and it was a good thing. I'm glad I did. I know it can be a raging debate here about reading or not. I'm glad I did. It only helped me. I still play things by ear, but it opened up more avenues of learning. I'm not the best sight reader, but I'm decent. This was a reflection on Mr. Vicari. He was very patient. We worked with the Bickford Method Books. Also some pages from an Italian (of course) Method and Dancla Violin exercises.

Funny thing was after a while I asked him about learning some Classical stuff. We worked on a Bach Bouree and then a Vivaldi Violin Concerto. Mainly the lessons were step by step organized "by the book" so to speak. He was strict, but personally, it was fun it take lessons with him. He was not dry and boring. He didn't crack my knuckles with a ruler. 

I hope this doesn't sound too much about me. I'm just telling it from my experience with him. Next installment I'll have a couple of anecdotes. For now good night, kids.

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## D.Martin

Thank you Mandopops for everything you've shared so far. This is so wonderful to hear your first hand accounts of your experience with him. If others feel like chiming in too, this thread can be a nice place to share these stories and honor your teacher. This is also shows the beauty of a forum like this where we can share information and experiences!

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## Mandophile

Here's some trivia. It's my understanding that Vicari played mandolin with the little Sicilian band during the wedding reception in Coppola's Godfather. I believe it was a tarantella. I'm sorry I can't recall where I read this. Can any one corroborate this?

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## mandopops

Yes, indeed he is in the wedding band in "The Godfather". He is plain as day because he keeps peeking his head around the Music stand to get in camera shots. He is playing the Martin Mandolin I mentioned earlier.

 Some of the incidental Music in the soundtrack is from that scene, there is a tarentella, The Godfather Tarentella also Godfather Mazurka written by Coppola's Father, Carmine. I wish the tracks would come out in their entirety. They are in the soundtrack only in snippets. Giovanni is very easy to see in the Johnny Fontaine (Al Martino) song serenading Connie. If you find some photo stills you can see some clear shots of him.

This does remind me of a couple of stories. (I do go on, don't I?). I asked him about the shoot and if he met Brando. If so, what was he like because of his reputation. He said he would see him in the morning getting bagels and coffee and said he was very nice. "He-a treated me-a beautiful."  

He said one down side was that for the scene they had to bring in fresh food from Luna's everyday (It was a wedding reception,after all) and I think he said it was about a week shooting. He said "We all were-a getting-a fat."

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DavidKOS

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## brunello97

Great stories, M'Pops, keep them coming…  I went back to check out the wedding scene in GF1. I tried to snag a couple caps of GV and his two point.  I played one of those (20-S?) up at Elderly a few weeks ago. Very nice mandolin.

Interesting why Coppola chose a NY-based mandolin player for the wedding band instead of tapping into the Italo-mando scene that must have still been pretty vibrant close to home in SF at the time. Tony Flores might have been too tall.  :Wink:  But I guess the wedding was supposed to be held out on Long Island (which if it was filmed 'on location' pretty much explains it...)

Mick

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DavidKOS

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## mandopops

Great job of snagin'.

 There he is, he's such a ham, making sure he's in full view of the camera.

It was filmed in Long Island.

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## mandopops

More? In no particular order:

In my Jethro days when I'd show up at his place he'd say. "Get you a cold one, Buddy?". Then he'd grab a couple of lite beers from the fridge, I'd say hi to Gussie (his wife) and we'd go downstairs for the lesson.

 With Giovanni, we'd start w/ a couple "hot" ones, freshly brewed espressos. He had a little one bedroom apartment on 24th St in Manhattan.  He had a house in Long Island, but he'd kept his old apartment in the city as his studio and he could say over night if he had to be in town. I guess with rent control at the time, it was relatively cheap. Anyway, in his kitchenette area he had an espresso machine. So before our lesson, he would grind the beans, brew a couple of cups and we would have our coffee. I loved this part of my lesson time. It was a little break from the weeks activity. We would just sit and chat and drink our espressos. One time he went right to the lesson without coffee. I just thought he was in a hurry so I said nothing. In mid-lesson, he looked at me startled and said, "We didn't-a have our coffee." I said I thought he was in a rush. He said no & I was to always insist, "I will not start my lesson, until I've had-a my coffee." With that we stopped and he brewed a couple of cups, we drank our espressos, then returned to finish our lesson.

If there ever was a female present, maybe another student arriving early, he would always put on a jacket. He said he didn't feel right not wearing a jacket with a lady in the room. An old world gentleman.

He had superb penmanship, whether writing his name or making Music notation. In fact, for signing his name he had a special pen & ink set. His Music pages were beautiful. Too him, everything was an artistic statement and a reflection on him.

I'd said earlier he was open to different kinds of Music. Nevertheless, he was not into, Johnny Cash. He must have seen him on TV the night before, because he turned to me in the middle of our lesson and asked me if I liked Johnny Cash. I said "Yeah, Johnny Cash is cool." He shook his head and said, "He can't-a sing, and he can't-a play Guitar." I tried to explain that w/ Cash he's the outlaw, tough but sensitive to the underdog etc...He wasn't buying it. Again, "He can't-a sing and he can't-a play Guitar." Well Johnny was down for the count w/ Mr. Vicari.

Next time I'll talk about some of his instruments and his playing.

I'd like to get these down now. A bit of oral history. D. Martin is right this is the place. I hope you enjoy these little stories.  

Joe

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DavidKOS

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## D.Martin

Those are great stories Joe! I for one am really enjoying these anecdotes. I hope other people here are as well. Thanks again for all these!

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## Jim Garber

Nice photos or Sr. Vicari on this page.

Also, additional info and mp3 of Occhi di Bambola for your listening pleasure.

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mandoisland

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## brunello97

Great GV quote at the end of the article:

"Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life."

Mick

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## mandopops

I've been preoccupied the last few weeks, but I'd like to return with my last installment, instruments & Music.

Mr. Vicari was from Cantania ,Sicily and kept a contact with the Carmelo Cantania makers there. (In fact while I was taking lessons he arranged a batch of Mandolins to be ordered for some of us students.) He had several Cantania mandolins, Flat backs and at least one Bowl back model. I think one belonged to a student who left it there for his lessons. Giovanni also had a Cantania Bowl back Mando-Cello. He pulled it out once or twice to play something. Beautiful. He also had a Cantania Greek Bouzouki. he pulled it out once and played some Bach thing on it. Again, beautiful.

 I think he had one or two Catania Guitars ,one steel strung & one nylon strung. One brief story. I was the 1st lesson of the day once & he must have been felling frisky. He handed me a guitar,he knew I could play a few chords, and started calling out chord changes to me while he started jamming. After a few passes I realized it was a sort of "Minor Swing" A minor,D Minor, E7th alternating pattern. So he just jammed away for a bit, Flat-picking on a nylon string. When he played in that style it was very Djangoy/Gypsy/Jazz style. I thought , well that's the closest I'll ever get to jamming w/ Django.

He had a D'Angelico Guitar, I only saw in pictures. He had a D'Angelico Mandolin which I discovered in a little closet, not in a case,the bridge was off and needed some work. I was freaking out it was just sitting right there in a closet. I think he was a little embarrassed he'd let it get so neglected. He ended up taking it to D'Aquisto (he knew from the old shop for repair) It was a gem two-point, asymmetrical,round sound hole. (Footnote: in the book "Acquired of the Angels" D'Aquisto is quoted about a Mr. Vicari playing Paganini Caprices on his D'Angelico Mandolin. I wished he'd recorded that stuff. This goes with the Paganini thread elsewhere.)(I feel like I'm back in school w/ footnotes. All I need are a few Ibids)

I never heard him play Violin or saw one of his fiddles. He had a Paramount Tenor banjo. We did a tape of us doing 12th St Rag w/ Mando & Banjo. One of my prize recordings.

His Music was diverse. He, of course, did the Italian recordings and the Juan Vicari Latin Lp. He recorded with Bernstein Vivaldi's Concerto in C for Diverse instruments & 2 Mandolins. Carlo De Filippis played the other Mandolin. I really like that recording. He had an autographed picture of Theodore Bikel on the wall, he had done a recording with him of some Russian music, I don't recall if Giovanni played Mandolin or Balalaika on it. He did have a Balalaika on the wall. He did have a Gibson Mandola, like the A4 from the teens. It kind of matched my A4. Although, he never liked Gibson Mandolins all that much.

A lot of his work through the 50's & 60's was playing in the Broadway Pit Orchestras. He would usually play multiple instruments.He played in "My Fair Lady", in which he said he also got paid to be the Guitar teacher. He also did "Hello Dolly". He said once they did a black cast with Armstrong and Pearl Bailey showing up. He did shows like these for years. Playing multiple instruments at union scale & with shows running for years, that's how he could afford to buy a house. I think somewhere in Long island. He kept his old apartment in the city as his studio.

In a previous entry I mentioned an Italian method he used. It was by Bonifacio Bianchi.

I told my Giovanni Vicari stories and I'm glad I got them out. Perhaps there could be a thread just for teacher stories. I'd like to hear some. I know someone here has a family connection to the aforementioned Carlo de Filippis, there was a Samuel Spiegel connection mentioned in another blog. These all could be complied. 

Someone start a Jethro as a teacher thread, I'll join in. 

Thanx for listening,

 Joe

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DavidKOS

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## Jim Garber

Great stuff, Mandopops. When did you take lessons from GV? I have a feeling I was in New York City also at that time but was unaware of him.

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## D.Martin

Thank you so much for your stories and for taking the time to allow us some insight into this great musician!

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## mandopops

Glad you guys liked the stories. 

Jim, I was in NYC around the time '78-81 ish. Koch was Mayor and I was well shall we say a "Free man in New York". I loved it. My wife & I just returned from a long weekend, visiting our son & hanging out in Manhattan & Brooklyn.

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## Jim Garber

Joe:LMK if and when you come around again to New York. I would love to connect. I have connections to Jethro, too. I will digitize those GV LPs soon, if that is any incentive.

Oh, and one more GV story, tho really second hand. Barry Mitterhoff told me this. He was performing in southern Westchester County and at some point in the concert he played Migliavacca. After the concert an elderly woman came over and told Barry that her husband played that tune. it was Mrs. Vicari. Barry did go out to visit with the family a few times.

------------
Now who has first hand experience with Giovanni Giovale?

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## mandopops

I never did meet Mrs. V, but I did talk to her briefly on the phone. When Mr. Vicari was in the hospital some one I still knew from New York let me know he was seriously ill and got me his room number there. I talked to her a bit then she put him on the phone. He was very emotional hearing from me after a few years and couldn't talk much. I spoke to her a little more, then we hung up. That was my last contact. 

Giovale, sure. How about DePace? Any of the Italians. Any 1st hand stories left. Let's start a fan club. Friends of the Italian Mandolinists.

Also, not just the Italians. Any one left with any 1st hand stories with Apollon? My Dad talked about seeing him in Vaudeville. How about Howard Frye? I know Norman Levine was big on him. I used to have "Gypsy Mandolin" on cassette. I don't know if I have that anymore.

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## Jim Garber

Howard Frye's wife was in the New York Mandolin Orchestra when I was there. She often played his customized A Jr. I think I have his LP and a CD version of it as well. "Gypsy Mandolin" is still available on CD and download.

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## Paul Hostetter

I noticed on Mr. Tedesco's website this image of him playing a Mozzani harp guitar. The guy had style!

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## mandopops

Jim, I went to 1 or 2 N.Y Mando Orch rehearsals, but I think I was moving and didn't stay with it. Maybe we met. I think Mitterhoff was at the rehearsal. Frye's wife? I dunno. That would have been cool.

 Did Frye have more than one LP? I'll check for "Gypsy Mando' on ITunes, thanx for the tip.

I know I'll go back to New York again w/ my son living there. We should connect.

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## mandopops

Wow, where's that pic from??

That's a classic.

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## Jim Garber

> I noticed on Mr. Tedesco's website this image of him playing a Mozzani harp guitar. The guy had style!


That is one of  Michael Tedesco's pages (author of _Mandolin of Gold_)

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## Jim Garber

That harp guitar photo is from another one of Michael Tedesco's pages on Vicari that I referenced earlier in this thread:




> Nice photos or Sr. Vicari on this page.

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## Eugene

Big thanks for spinning these yarns, Joe.  Very entertaining.

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## MandoSquirrel

> ...
>  Did Frye have more than one LP? I'll check for "Gypsy Mando' on ITunes, thanx for the tip.
> .


Norman Levine put out an LP of live recordings of Fry "Classical Mandolin", I think was the title. I think it was in the 1980's, and has never been reissued. I should still have my copy in my LP collection, but much of it was water damaged at my last home, & I hope it wasn't. I'm intending to find it soon, I know which half it's NOT in.

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## SunnynVA

Loved hearing your stories. I was a student from 84-85 and have one of his Carmelo Catania mandolins. Flat back, sweet sound and beautiful. Yes, he did indeed wear his jacket every time I was there. At times I would pick up pasteries from Daiuto's on 8th near Penn Station and bring them to him. When he became ill, I visited him at his home on LI. His lovely wife, Irene was there. We exchanged Christmas cards every year.  She always wanted to keep in touch with "Giovanni's" students.

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## mandopops

Nice to hear from a fellow student. You're were lucky to have met his wife. I never did, but I did have a chance to speak with her.

My Catania sure looks like a perfect match to yours. I love mine as well. It's a gem.  

Bringing pastries? I wished I would have thought of that.

Glad to hear from you,

Joe

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## brunello97

> Joe:LMK if and when you come around again to New York. I would love to connect. .... I will digitize those GV LPs soon, if that is any incentive.


Joe, please go to NY and visit with Jim soon.  :Wink: 

Mick

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## mandopops

You know, Mick, I think the time for subtlety has passed. It's time to call in Luca Brasi with the threat of "sleeping with the fishes".

Are you listening, Jim?

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## Jim Garber

I am listening... glurg... glurg...

BTW: Joe and SunnynVA -- about those Carmelo Catania mandolins: when were they built. it looks like not all that long ago. Maybe 1960s or 70s?

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## mandopops

Glad you asked , Jim

Mine is dated 7/31/1979, Model: 2/CT No. 102 (?)
There is another number it says: Matricola 60417 (?)

The story is (here I go again), Mr. Vicari said he could get Cantania to make some if he got enough students to order. I think 5 or 6 of us ordered. It's been a while, but I think the price was $650 or $700. $100 more for a bowl-back. I got the flat back. Sometimes I wished I'd ordered a Bowl-back, they were awfully nice, but I'm glad I got mine.

There was some hassle at the airport with customs when they finally arrived, we had to pay some amount for duty. $25 or $50. being from Chicago, I assumed it was just somebodys palm needed greasing.

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## mandopops

P.S. My wife has asked me what my Catania is now worth. (No, it's not for sale). I told her I honestly don't know. I have no way to gauge the market for one of these.

Anyone have a guess?

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## MF Tedesco

It had been my great fortune and pleasure to speak with and visit Mrs Vicari many times between the years 1998-2010. 

Regarding the photos on my site: I went to visit her in early December (2008, if I remember correctly), and when I got there she had, at my earlier request, pulled out a bunch of photos for me to look at. I had my camera with me and I took pictures of the pictures. That's how the hand colored, Vicari harp-guitar, and several others ended up on my novel's website (www.amandolinofgold.com). 

Although Mrs. Vicari contributed a tremendous amount of historical detail concerning her husband's career, she understood that I was researching and writing a novel, not a biography of Giovanni Vicari. Although I had written about her in the afterword, she preferred that I not include her in the acknowledgments. I removed them out of respect for her wishes.

I freely admit that the careers of Vicari, Gioviale, Calace, Apollon, etc, and the world of mandolin virtuosi circa 1880 to 1925 were my greatest inspirations. If not for Irene Vicari's encyclopedic memory and undying affection for her husband and his music, my novel would certainly have been something incalculably different.

Best,

Michael Tedesco

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## Jim Garber

Michael:
Thanks so much for checking in here. I have been meaning to read your book since I first heard about it. Now you remind me again.

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## MF Tedesco

> Michael:
> Thanks so much for checking in here. I have been meaning to read your book since I first heard about it. Now you remind me again.


Thanks, Jim,

Like I always say: If you don't like the novel, it also makes a fine doorstop, or booster seat.

Best,

Michael

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## brunello97

> Thanks, Jim,
> 
> Like I always say: If you don't like the novel, it also makes a fine doorstop, or booster seat.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Michael


On my summer reading list, now. Looking forward to it.

Mick

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## mandopops

Hello Michael,

Glad you added to the ongoing thread. I'm also glad you were able to meet with Mrs. Vicari to find out more about Mr. Vicari. 
You're in Brooklyn, maybe the next time I'm in Brooklyn visiting my son we could meet.

Joe

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## Collette

If this is the Giovanni Vicari Who played mandolin in the wedding scene from "The Godfather" then yes I knew him.  I studied classical guitar with him in the 70's his primary instrument was the mandolin.  Let me know if this is the same Vicari and I will tell you more.

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brunello97

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## wundo

Does anyone seen or has the sheet music to Nostalgia, recorded by Vicari with mandola and guitar?
thanks

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## Paul Hostetter

> Let me know if this is the same Vicari and I will tell you more.


It's definitely him. Let it roll!

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## Collette

I studied Classical Guitar with Giovanni Vicari in the 70's, mostly Carulli and Carcassi method.  At that time his studio was on 24th St between 9th the 10th Ave. in NYC.  He was an excellent teacher, wonderful musician and a warm and personable man.  He often would accompany me on the Mandolin always improvising something wonderful.  I never knew that he also played banjo but I’m not surprised.  He was very patient and precise about the position of my hands and which fingers my right hand used (index, middle or ring) always spoken in Italian.   I came to him with a lot of sloppy rock technique (if you could call it that) and he would have none of that.  To this day I still practice many of the same scales and beautiful arpeggio exercises he introduced me to.  I will forever be grateful for having had the opportunity to study with this great virtuoso musician.
As a person he was warm, fun loving and generous with his time and talent.  Often during our lesson he would serve me espresso coffee, sometimes with anisette and always one coffee bean.   If I close my eyes I can still smell the coffee and hear the machine in his little kitchen alcove.  Out he would come from behind the alcove with a tray of espresso, the bottle of anisette and sometimes biscotti  - a toast of some kind, in Italian of course, and then on with the lesson.  I would describe him as a very dapper gentleman and I think quite the ladies’ man.  But never inappropriate in any way, always the gentlemen.  Christmas was special; he always had a little gift for me, along with the espresso.  
I will always be grateful for this time in my life and having had the opportunity to study with this abundantly talented,  generous musician

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Beanzy, 

brunello97, 

DavidKOS, 

Eugene, 

Jim Garber, 

mandopops, 

Paul Hostetter

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## Jim Garber

Thanks, Colette. It is always wonderful to hear first person accounts of our mandolin idols.

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## mandopops

Collette,
 Thanks for your recollections of Mr. Vicari. You were a few years ahead of me. I don't know if you read back over my posts, but our experiences are quite similar. I always remember him and our time together fondly. Espresso & Biscotti, oh yes. I think at Christmas I'd get a Italian Fruit Cake of some kind. 

I think he always had more Guitar students (Both Jazz & Classical) than Mandolin. I'm glad to know he would "Jam" on Mandolin with you on Guitar.

Thanks for adding your comments,

Joe

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## Collette

Hi Joe,

Yes I did read over your other posts and I see that we had very similar experiences.  And yes he always had his jacket on.  I know I have an old tape of he and I playing together, I am inspired to try and find it.  Do you know if he had children?

Thanks

Collette

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## Jim Garber

I was just talking about GV yesterday. I believe he eventually moved out to Long Island. I am not sure if his wife is still living but I believe that his some lives out there.

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## mandopops

Collette,
Yes, he did have a son. I never did meet him.

I hope you can find your tapes. I have mine. Maybe a dozen or so tunes. I'm always on Mandolin. He is playing some on Mandolin or Guitar & 1 on Banjo. They are so great to have. I cringe hearing myself, but it's just the snippet of us together that bring make another time & place. I've dubbed mine to CD.

I'm glad you still play. I'm sure Mr. Vicari would be glad, too.

Joe

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## Collette

Hi Joe,

So far no luck.  But I do have all my music books with his red and green marks saying "here" or "out" in green meaning good and red for not so good but out anyway.  In fact I sat down yesterday and played thru some as best I could. 

I'm glad to know he had a son.  He never mentioned it.  I wonder if he plays?

Thanks

Collette

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## mandopops

Well I feel another Vicari story coming on.
Yes his son did play. As I remember it, he said he started teaching his son Guitar at an early age. He would pop a chocolate into his mouth every time he did something good. I guess he developed into a good player, but lost interest or something.
 Anyway I got the impression Mr. Vicari was disappointed. 
I know from having kids they are their own people. 

Joe

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## Jim Garber

Any of you Vicari alumni know what instrument he is holding here and who made it? It looks like a banjo-mandola.

It might be the instrument he is playing here.

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## mandopops

Hi Jim,
I think it's just a Banjo-Guitar(Guitar neck on a Banjo body). I never saw it around. The only Banjo I saw or heard him play was a Tenor Banjo. So I don't know if he used it on the recording.

Speaking of recording, looks like a nice old LP just waiting to be dubbed. Looks like some Banjo trax I don't have.

Hint hint!

Joe

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## Jim Garber

That was a scan from a record catalog of some 78s he made.

I know  I know... I hope to get that USB turntable set up soon.

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## brunello97

> That was a scan from a record catalog of some 78s he made.
> 
> I know  I know... I hope to get that USB turntable set up soon.


An older article from Computer World reviewing USB turntables.

"So you've never used a turntable?......"

These aren't as expensive as I thought they might be. But I have no idea where that box of old LPs might actually be.

Mick

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## Jim Garber

A modern rendition of Vicari's Visone tango played by Les frères Canapelli of France.

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mandolino maximus

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## mandopops

Jim, 

Thanx for that tune. Great. I liked hearing it w/ that group. I'm still a sucker for the Italian stuff.

Joe

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## Jim Garber

Yeah, me too, Joe. I am pretty excited since recently a guy I know who plays this stuff (among other things I like) moved up semi-near to me and we have gotten together a few times. Time to delve into the archives for these wonderful tunes.

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## mandopops

Jim,
Glad you can play these tunes with someone. They are great sounding on the Mandolin. They really get your Tremolo sounding good.

I'm adding a hand written arrangement of The Godfather Theme by Mr. Vicari. It's arranged in chord melody style. He arranged it for me because he knew I liked to play that way. (I started w/ Jethro as my 1st teacher so...) Giovanni always called it 'Banjo Style', as in Tenor Banjo.

It's a great arrangement. Also, it shows off his beautiful hand writing. It's a work of art in itself.


Joe

P.S. I haven't figured out how to add audio attachments yet. I could add some of our homemade duet recordings.

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Beanzy, 

Mandophile

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## jbfiddle

Hello everyone! First of all thank you very much for putting this wonderful thread together. I've recently discovered the work of Mr. Vicari and I'm glad to know more about him.

I was wondering if any of the recordings y'all mentioned are available yet. I have been able to find all of two tracks of Mr. Vicari's playing, and I'm eager to hear more. Thank you!

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## Paul Hostetter

Get this album for sure: 



And check some of these if you've really got it bad!

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jbfiddle

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## Jim Garber

AFAIK most of Vicari' recordings and other info are guarded by the family lawyer. I have two of his LPs and thought about re-issuing them on CD but were trying it might be an uphill climb to do so. It is a shame tho that more of his music is not available.

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## brunello97

Once upon a time, long, long ago, I heard about a guy, a noble man of infinite wisdom, who had a couple of LPs from Vicari who spoke about transferring them to mp3 files through some new-fangled device.  A modern miracle, it seemed.

But that was long ago and far way, maybe in an alternate universe or consciousness. A dream perhaps  :Smile: 

Mick

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mandopops

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## mandopops

Yes, Mick, I heard that tale too. 
I've come to believe it is a myth. It was passed down to cause pain and confusion among the poor masses. 
Oh Obi-Wan, please relieve our suffering and give us our mp3's.
Joe

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## jbfiddle

Jim,

I understand totally and I appreciate you looking into making this music more widely available. I will continue to watch eBay for some of those LPs and pursue the various compilations as well.

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## mandopops

2 other CD's that have some Vicari trax are "Birichino-Italian Folksongs,..." and "Speranze Perdute-Italian Folksongs...".
I don't know where you'd find them. I bought them from Norman Levine ages ago. They are collections of various Italian players and singers on some international label. 
The Vicari trax on these and the "Italian String Virtuosi" CD are a good batch of tunes. 
Joe

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## jbfiddle

It looks like they're both on iTunes (along with the Vicari-less volume 1), thanks for the tip!

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## mandopops

Thanx for triggering my memory. I think I got the L'Appuntamento (Vicari-less) and the Speranze Perdute from Norman then I got the Birichino from ITunes. Anyway, you found them. They are fun.
Joe

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## Martin Jonas

> Once upon a time, long, long ago, I heard about a guy, a noble man of infinite wisdom, who had a couple of LPs from Vicari who spoke about transferring them to mp3 files through some new-fangled device.  A modern miracle, it seemed.
> 
> But that was long ago and far way, maybe in an alternate universe or consciousness. A dream perhaps 
> 
> Mick


Sheri's thread on her Italian music archive here is always worth following, but right now even more so: Link

Martin

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## brunello97

> Sheri's thread on her Italian music archive here is always worth following, but right now even more so: Link
> 
> Martin


That's what I know, Martin.  :Wink:   Sheri is una tesor(o)a  and so is her collection on DropBox.  

Mick

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## mandopops

Thanx for the heads up, Martin. I didn't realize she had recordings. I just thought it was sheet Music. I should have paid closer attention. I got the latest patch.
Joe B

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## mandopops

Thanks again to Sheri and the others for their interest in Mr. Vicari. 
I love having these trax from the Mandolinata LP. I had some of these on an old cassette that was poor fidelity to begin with, but only got worse over time. I think Giovanni's playing on these trax is particularly spirited. I especially love the Tra Veglia.
I'm including his hand written Music for the tune. I asked him about it, so he wrote it out for me to learn. I've kept it down through the years. It's a bit worn around the edges, but it is a prized possession. (Perhaps this should be linked into the other thread?)
Joe B
 [ATTACH=CONFIG]137888

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DavidKOS, 

jbfiddle, 

Paul Hostetter

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## DavidKOS

> The only recordings I have of him are on the Italian String Virtuosi





> Get this album for sure: 
> 
> !


I just did...what great playing on the whole recording, but Vicari is a monster. 

Thank you for the recommendation.

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## FUCHSAUDIO

I have a record called "Italian Dances" by Vicari and his orchestra. He was indeed a beast on mandolin. The record was my mom's. She studied with him (guitar), as did John Tropea (well known NY area guitarist) and a friend of mine Vinnie D'Ariggo. What's interesting is that watching Mom, John and Vinnie play, they all had a left hand position that was unique and seemed to be a common thread to Vicari's teaching I would guess. Sorry to say my Mom passed, but Vinnie and John are still alive and I will share this thread link with them ! It's funny, I remember my mom saying (quite casually) that she studied with the "mandolin player in the Godfather movie"...lol. I recently visited Vinnie Bell in NJ. He apparently played on the Godfather soundtrack with Vicari. His memory is foggy at times, but I saw royalty statements showing that movie soundtrack listed, and he was obviously on it. He remembered some common guitarist friends we knew (Bucky Pizzarelli, Al Caiola, Tony Motola and others), but Vicari he said " I think I remember him".   

So: Vicari took my mom to D'Angelico's shop on Kenmare St. Mom worked on Wall street as a clerk/typist in the late 40's or perhaps early 50's before she began teaching with my Dad at a studio in Ridgewood Queens, run by a guy named Mike Widmer (a killer tenor guitarist apparently). 

She studied on a Sonora archtop guitar my uncle loaned her (which was a horrible instrument). I still own it. It's a pretty guitar with zero tone and tough to play. I also own that same uncle's Vega mandolin (a much better instrument)/ Well, Vicari decided she needed a new guitar and they went to D'Angelico's shop. She bought a used Gibson that he had in the shop on "time", which meant going to the shop each week to bring a payment. I once asked why she didn't buy a D'Angelico and she explained "my first car cost less money !". 

My Uncle Pat D'Amelio (I believe) also studied with Vicari as well. He purchased an Interdonati guitar in 1938, which I now own thanks to Tony Marcus being kind enough to sell it back to me as it was a family heirloom. 

I've had some long e-mail discussions about Interdonati with Todd Cambio at Fraulini guitars. I've also gotten to know some of his relatives via facebook. The family has a violin Interdonati made which needs repair. He apparently made less than 50 instruments in his lifetime. He was a tool & Die maker and cabinet maker who apparently sold tools to D'Angelico and the family told me that when Philip passed, D'Angelico "bought the guitar making shop". More discussion for another thread I guess. 

This picture is my guitar. I've seen pictures of this same style with F holes as well. It has a "German" fret at the nut, premium woods and hardware and may have been refretted and/or refinished at some point My luthier friend Rick McCurdy in NYC has examined the guitar and said it has "scalloped bracing" which was unusual and apparently done by Martin Guitars and not too many others. The guitar sounds great, although the pick guard and DeArmond pickup are missing.

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Beanzy, 

brunello97, 

DavidKOS, 

Mandophile, 

mandopops

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## brunello97

Thanks for sharing!  (Great looking guitar, btw.)

From my count, there are at least a half dozen great stories immersed in your post.  :Wink:   For some of us, Vicari has almost Monroe-esque status. Any time you are keen to flesh one of them out further, you know we're all ears!

Mick

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DavidKOS

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## DavidKOS

> ... Vinnie Bell in NJ. He apparently played on the Godfather soundtrack with Vicari. His memory is foggy at times, but I saw royalty statements showing that movie soundtrack listed, and he was obviously on it. He remembered some common guitarist friends we knew (Bucky Pizzarelli, Al Caiola, Tony Motola and others), but Vicari he said " I think I remember him".


What a great list of names I haven't heard in a while. Vinnie Bell! Al Caiola! Tony Mottola!

I remember some of the Italian records those guys made. They were great jazz players and studio cats, but also would make these records my Uncle Gaspare loved.

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## mandopops

Yes thanx Fuchsaudio, for adding to this Vicari thread. 
I love hearing more stories about Giovanni. I take pride and pleasure in the fact I knew him and took Mandolin lessons from him. I like hearing about his other students and his playing experiences. I feel part of a great Musical link and history. That means a lot to me. 
Like David, it's fun hearing the old Italian Guitar cats being brought up. There is a long Italian Jazz tradition dating back to Salvatore Massaro (aka Eddie Lang) & Joe Venuti. Today we have on Tenor Sax, Joe Lovano & Organist Joey DeFrancesco.
I'd like to know the tunes on the "Italian Dances" record. I don't know if I have any of those trax. If not, I'd love to have them. Hint, hint.
Joe B

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## FUCHSAUDIO

Hey Mandopops: My only regret was not seeing this thread sooner. My mom passed about a year or so ago and she was fairly active on the computer. She would have certainly contributed more about Vicari if she remembered. I'm not sure how long she studied with him. 

I know she also studied with a guy named Mike Widmer as well afterwards I believe. My mom would have been anywhere from 18-25. She worked on Wall Street after high school, so let's say maybe 19 years old in 1950 or so ? My parents opened their own music store in Queens around the time I was born, 1957 or so. They taught house-to-house as well as at Mike's studio (where they met) in Ridgewood, before opening their own store in Flushing.  

I sent a link to this thread to John Tropea and Vinnie D'Arrigo, both former Vicari students who are a bit younger than Mom was. Vincent is around my age (late 50's), while Tropea is 69 as of this writing. 

I will take a look at that record and get titles posted. I can do a transfer to digital format pretty easily and maybe post in a drop box or someplace online. It's sad that (for whatever reason) the family and/or their attorney is not more open about sharing his legacy. I do love the stories about his espresso machine and improvising skills. My Italian "Uncle Pat" (on Mom's side of the family) used to make espresso after we'd played Italian folk songs. I learned to play basic chords he taught me on the Interdonati guitar accompanying him as he played mandolin. I remember I couldn't put enough milk and sugar into the espresso to get it down ! From what I recall, Vicari is blazing on this record !

As far as stories..I'll gladly share what I can. Perhaps another thread is a more appropriate place. Yes, I did meet with Vinnie recently to have a record signed. He's getting on in years and is a bit "foggy" some days and pretty clear others (from what I was told). He and his wife Bonnie were very cordial, my wife and I had coffee and I toured his "man cave". He remembered some common musician friends my parents also knew, who were active in the studios when he was Bucky, Caiola, Al Chernet, Motola (who was one of his teachers). Dad knew Angelo DiPippo and Dominic Cortese as he was an accordionist. They actually went to the same Italian barber shop !! lol.

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brunello97, 

Mandophile, 

mandopops

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## mandopops

I remember Mr Vicari speaking of John Tropea with pride. Any & every thing you can share please do. If you've read over this thread then you will have gotten a lot of my memories. The actual vibe of meeting with him weekly is hard to capture. Musically it was always an education, but the personal time was equally as valuable.
Let's stay in touch.
Joe B

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## FUCHSAUDIO

I shot the a picture of the Vicari album I have. I can get a transfer done to be able to upload it I'm sure.

----------

Beanzy, 

brunello97, 

DavidKOS, 

mandopops, 

Paul Hostetter

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## ninomando

A  great     book on  silvestri  with   about  17        songs  was  sold  by    the  mandolin  man  from  oregon  and  yet  with  the  many    tunes of   giovialle and  vicari  readily  available on  u  tube   there  is  scant  sheet  music    available  for  these  giants  of  music.   Petines  family  has   some  of  the  greatest   collections  of   guiseppe  Petine  but  -hardly  any  available.  Even the  gerat  Nagano  library,the clasical  mandolin  collections..   the  great  ones   sheet  music is   sadly  hardly  availble..and  yet  there  are   players  out    there   who  have  all  the    above   great  composers  sheet  music  but    we  mandolin  players    read  alot  about  them  and  listen  to  them  .  but  scramble  to  find  the  sheet  music..your  could  even  put  the     availability    put   out  by  mandoisland.  com  and  .  org   and  Michael   Rickenbachs   tremendous  contribution   to  the  advance  ment  of  the  mandolin

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DavidKOS

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## mandopops

The Vicari thread revived.
As far as Mr Vicari tunes, I have copies of 2 of his original tunes in his own handwriting. Yes, long before any of the high-tech computer apps. I would watch him pull out his pen & ink set & carefully & meticulously write out the Music.
One is La Strega (The Witch), a polka. The other is Felice Ritorno, Happy Return, a waltz. He said he wrote it after returning from a visit back to his hometown in Sicily. They are both simple Italian style tunes with the chord changes written in. He & I would play La Strega. I do have a tape of us doing it.
I would love to share them, but I don't know about copywrite issues. I don't know if I can just put them out without some proper authorization. I know it's a teaser, but I want to do it right.
Joe B

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brunello97, 

DavidKOS

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## JDC

Hi There,
I know this appears to be an old post, but thought I'd share some info. 
I was recently doing a search on Vicari, and instruments he owned. My grandfather, a musician, settled in NY from Italy. He was friends with Vicari.
Vicari had a D'Angelico Lyon and Healy style, scroll head stock, f-holes mandolin. This mandolin is listed in Acquired of the Angels. Serial number 168, date  / /44.
 For some reason he didn't like it, and sold it to my grandfather. The mandolin was originally stained in a walnut finish. My grandfather owned a blonde finished Special.
Listed in Aquired of the Angels. Serial number, 1758, date, o6/07/47. 
He took the mandolin back to John D'Angelico, and asked him to refinish the mando blond to match the guitar. The scroll was left with the dark stain to show it was once a different finish. 
Both the guitar, and mando are still in our family, and lovingly played. I've attached some photos.

Keep on pickin' and a strumin'

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brunello97, 

DavidKOS, 

frankie, 

Mandophile

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## frankie

lovely instruments, both!  play them in good health!

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