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

[holly6028]

So very sad to learn. Always enjoyed seeing Stan on trips to Mandolin Bros. with Larry Maltz. Last time -- just last year -- went to pick up repaired ancient Gibson A, and Stan sold me on my now much treasured Lyon & Healy. Think of him fondly when I open the case ….

[Dennie King]

I am very sad to hear that Stan is so sick. I have bought several instruments from him. I still have the Flatiron A5 that he was so kind to pick out for me along with a note telling me how much punch it had compared to like models. He was more than kind and honest. I pray he can be helped and God will be with him and his family. Denise King

[Marcus CA]

Visiting Mandolin Brothers was a high point of my trip to NYC nearly six years ago. A buddy of mine took me there and introduced me to Stan as his friend from California. Stan looked at me and said, "All the way from California? Then you'll have to play every instrument in the store. Go ahead."

We were there for over two hours. A couple of times, Stan checked in on me to make sure that I was having fun, making no sales pitch whatsoever. As we were about to leave, one of the repair guys who was holding a vintage Gibson F-4 stopped me and asked if I was the guy who had been playing lots of their mandolins. When I confessed that I was, he handed me the F-4, saying that he had just finished repairing it and setting it up, and that Stan had told him to see if I wanted to try it out.

MB is a very special store reflecting a very special guy.

[greg_eye]

I first met Stan way back around 1976. I remember him as being a kind and wonderful man. I bought a 1929 Martin 00-18 Slotted 12 Fret Guitar from him, it was completely Outta' Sight ! I'm very, very sad to learn he is ill now. My heart goes out to him and his whole family. I pray for God's healing and his restoration to health. ~~~Greg Price

[Ken Waltham]

This is truly sad news. I bought my first Loar F5 from Stan. The store, through Larry Wexer, worked with me to make it happen in a friendly and satisfying manner. Just a few months ago, Stan was never too busy to answer phone calls or reply to emails from me. Truly a real gentleman in the vintage world.
All the best for a full and speedy recovery.
Ken Waltham

[Pete Jenner]

Terrible news. I met Stan about 11 months ago - good man.

[BradKlein]

For as long as I can remember, the Mandolin Brothers catalogue would arrive with an historic photo on the front. And on the back, the staff of the shop would do their best to reproduce the tableau. This may be from the last paper catalogue to go out a few years back. (Newsletters have been mailed as recently as this year, but the full catalogue was replaced by the web.)

J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers on the front. That's Stan at the microphone on the back cover, and his son, Eric with banjo.

[journeybear]

Sad news, indeed. I've never been to Mandolin Brothers, always heard nothing but good about the place, the instruments they have, and the people there, especially Stan. I've long enjoyed the vebiage in their description, which I believe came from Stan himself, another reason to appreciate him. I was just up that way for the first time in years, and thought about making the pilgrimage, but didn't. Not quite enough time on my hands (nor desire to brave NYC traffic in a rental car). Wish I had. And I wish him well.

The store is already immortalized in song. Joni Mitchell's "Sharon," Side 2 Track 1 of her album, "Hejira," opens with the line: "Went to Staten Island, Sharon, to buy myself a mandolin." I wonder which one she chose, and how much she plays it.

[RichieK]

This is just very sad to hear. I bought my first really good mandolin from Stan in 1977. There just aren't many other special guys like him, and if you think there are, then 'Go Find Another One'! I wish him the best.

[Steve Fundy]

I am so sorry to hear. I used to work at Mandolin Bros in the late 70's in the shop helping out with electric guitar pickup installs etc. Also years later I was Stan's Telephone System guy as well as installer of their 1st video surveillance equipment watching the shop floor..
I bought my 1979 Les Paul there back in the "Electric House" days & spent lots of time hanging out with the folks who worked there back in those days.I lived a few blocks away & remember when Mandolin Bros was actually "2 Brothers". I was glad to have such a great resource in my neighborhood, though unfortunately I could never afford anything hanging on the wall So Godspeed to you Stanley and the hope that you will recover from this illness and continue being the man behind the world's best string instrument shop!
Sincerely,
Steve Fundy

[journeybear]

Answering my own question, from Joni Mitchell's website:

The following is a letter to the editor that appeared in the April 1997 issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine
Q: I was listening the other day to Joni Mitchell's Hejira album, and I was struck by these lines in "Song for Sharon": "I went to Staten Island, Sharon / To buy myself a mandolin / And I saw the long white dress of love / On a store-front mannequin." Now, I've been listening to this album for years, but it just now occurred to me that these lyrics may refer to the Mandolin Brothers store in Staten Island. Is this the case? Did Joni Mitchell go buy a mandolin there sometime in the '70s? What did she buy? Am I crazy for even wondering about this stuff?
A: Stan Jay, president of Mandolin Brothers, would like to assure you that you are not crazy, and that he has been asked this question many times over the years. Joni Mitchell did indeed make a trip to his store on Staten Island in 1976, where she bought a Gibson K-4 mandocello, built around 1915. It is a large (guitar-sized) version of the Gibson F-4 mandolin and is tuned C G D A, one octave below a mandola. On the same trip, she also bought a circa 1915 Martin 000-28 herringbone guitar. It was during the ferry ride back to New York City from Staten Island that she began writing "Song for Sharon."

There's more about this at this blog.


Joni with her Gibson K-4 mandocello at Mandolin Brothers store

[Charles Johnson]

Very sad news. I learned a great deal about vintage instruments in the early days by pouring over Stan's paper list. He is one of the truely groundbreaking pioneers in vintage instruments. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
Sincerely,
Charles Johnson

[MikeEdgerton]

The story of Joni Mitchell's Song for Sharon has been discussed a few times here. I was in Mandolin Bros the day they were packing a uke that George Harrison's wife had purchased as a birthday present for him. I actually was playing guitar with a guy I didn't know that turned out to be Leslie West. It was a magical place where you could play anything on the wall or in the cases.

[trevor]

Stan was one of the inspirations for the starting of TAMCO and on my two visits (one before the TAMCO start) he was always most welcoming and very generous with his time. I remember in darker times for myself when his monthly website update was one of the things that made life worth living.

Hang in there Stan.

[Charley wild]

I bought a Gibson Banjo from Stan not long after they opened. I ended up selling it back to him a couple years later. I talked with him on the phone a few tmes and he always had time to chat a while. My best to him and his family!

[ianbarton]

Went in to visit the store a couple weeks ago on my day off and its a great store. I didn't know at the time that he was going through this at the time, and it was my first visit there, but there was definitely a sense that something was missing. Sad to learn this news and hope that I can meet Stan in the future.

[Scott Tichenor]

Love to get our hands on the original image to color correct it a bit more. There was real color there. These originals taken from the web are almost as bad as black and white. This isn't that good, but it's better.

[Sven the Impaler]

Stan is a good man.

20+ years ago an elderly lady contacted me wanting to sell her late husband's old D'Angelico archtop guitar. I helped her contact several well known vintage dealers who low balled the value.....except for Stan who said he thought he could get much more.

And he did (3-4 times more than the other vintage dealers).

[journeybear]

Love to get our hands on the original image to color correct it a bit more.

Thanks for doing that. I don't have PhotoShop on my laptop, and my desktop is not in tiptop condition.

[Eliot Greenspan]

All my love and best to Stan, family and MB. A near full day there bounding from room to room, playing all sorts of mandos remains a highlight. Stan bringing out a few gems not on display and saying, "here try this..." was very special.

[MikeEdgerton]

Love to get our hands on the original image to color correct it a bit more. There was real color there. These originals taken from the web are almost as bad as black and white. This isn't that good, but it's better.

The original was probably a Polaroid or a 110 at best.

[Bruce Conforth]

I'm so deeply saddened by this news. I started going to the Mandolin Brothers in 1975 when both Stan and Hap were running the place. It was always such an amazing thing to see so many remarkable instruments in one place. And you could take them off the wall and play them!!! Guitar heaven!!! That was pretty rare for those days, but Hap or Stan would sit down and talk to you about the instrument you were playing, or pick one up and play along. It was instrument nirvana. Over the years I bought numerous wonderful pieces from them, including what was my dream guitar: a 1928 Martin 000-45. Stan was always simply wonderful. Whether you were there in person or called him up he always had time to talk... Hell, he even would go get a guitar and play it over the phone for me so I could hear how it sounded. Regardless of what famous person shopped there Stan always made us little people feel just as important. My heart and prayers go our to Stan and his family. What a mensch!

[BradKlein]

A news update from Alison Jay. We were heartened to hear that Stan was transferred to a nursing facility last Friday, but complications forced his return to the hospital, at least for now. Once those are addressed they hope Stan can leave the hospital again.

On a personal note, it's been gratifying to hear all the great Mandolin Brothers stories here and elsewhere and I'm sure that there are plenty of notes and well wishes in the mail to the store address. And I know this support is of value to Stan and his family.

[CaRU]

I miss Stan Jay. I live a block and a half from Mandolin Bros. and used to stop in frequently and he was always there and helped me with whatever I needed..I really wish I had more information about how he is doing. He is in my prayers and I have put a prayer request in for Brooklyn Tabernacle who prays continuously for healing. I send God's Word to Him and pray for a miracle..Stan we miss you and love you!

[Larry S Sherman]

"Love to get our hands on the original image to color correct it a bit more."

This looks like it's from the same session.