Stan Jay, Pioneer of Vintage Instrument Fame Fighting For His Lif

Played a meh Loar there...and a Monteleone that made me weep it was so good. Still have the t-shirt....

Andy was bonding with a new Aleyas when I caught his show at the synagogue in mid September, 2019 (I did not take this picture). He was pretty smitten with it and it sounded great, of course. Pretty much any mandolin he's playing is going to sound good. He's been moving around on a variety of mandolins for awhile. Might have something by now. May be awhile before we find out at the rate the world is unfolding at the moment.

Attachment 189357

I was in the store once when Ricky Skaggs came in to buy a Loar.
Another time this guy walks in with 2 instruments cases. Upon Stan opening them, was a prewar Gibson banjo and and Martin K5 Uke. The guy just bought a house on Staten Island and in the attic were 5 of the same banjo and 4 of the same Uke. (or visa versa). I guess that took care of his down payment.

Noting the anniversary of this bit of news shared back in 2014. One of several times the Cafe has been quoted by the New York Times as a source of breaking news, all of them I believe by Bradley Klein who wrote this article.

Stan & Hap's original Mandolin Bros. incarnation on Bay Street on Staten Island was amazing. In the earliest days it was all vintage... no electrics, no gear and I don't recall any new instruments until later on. It was all pure vintage... with many of the offerings being pristine.

Oh I'd like to be 19 again and know what I know now... ;)

I didn't get there that early but I was there when every instrument type had it's own little bedroom. I picked up a banjo and strummed it and was amazed at how live it was. I soon realized that every banjo on the walls, and they were covered, was resonating back at me. I bought two mandolins, two banjos, and my primary stage guitar from Stan. I still have the guitar and one mandolin. It was a true joy to give him money.

Never got the chance to visit in person, but I certainly enjoyed reading Stan's fantastic instrument descriptions. I'm sure meeting the man would have been as special as being able to browse his very special store.

Spot on. Both were incredible, a very generous man and great mandolins.

When I was a kid (11 or 12) my uncle used to get their mail catalogues - early 80s I loved visiting my uncle's place and pouring over them.

When the time came I to buy my first real guitar, in my last year of highschool, I phoned Mandolin Bros up (long-distance from New Zealand) and ordered a brand new Ovation Custom Legend to be sent to my Dad who was in Canada on business at the time.

I'll still think of Stan, the shop and all those old catalogues when I play that old Ovation, or listen to side two of Hejira (which I do very, very often).

Attachment 196825

Miss having this guy in our musical world, a feeling I'm sure is shared by many.

I'd love to see a coffee table book of the old Catalogs just to enjoy Stan's lyrically descriptive prose of the instruments on sale. I kick myself for not keeping those catalogs.

2016 or so, cell phone rings, see that it's wife: "Hi, Annie. Yeah, I'm just speaking with Stan Jay, the owner over here!" And, the more time goes by, the more comments I get on my "Mandolin Bros" guitar strap.

Sad anniversary of the publishing of this article that subsequently was picked up by the New York Times and quoted as a news source.

I was truly blessed to have had the experience of dealing with Stan Jay. If my memory servers me well I bought five instruments from him and I still own two of them. Mandolin Bros was an experience that I cherish.