I am a guitar player at heart but over the years I've recorded on both tenor banjo and mandolin. Some of my favorite string players - Giovanni Vicari, Giovanni Gioviale, and Frank Fazio - came from the Italian tradition. They all recorded on mandolin, tenor banjo, and guitar. If you've never heard their music definitely take some time to listen. It's beautiful. I've learned Italian waltzes and polkas on the tenor banjo but the recordings I've done are more in the 20s jazz vein. The mandolin playing I've done is right from the books of the Italian masters.
