Mandolin, no: he plays an instrument that is its big brother. But the “master” bit is right. This is choro, a rough parallel to ragtime, and a particularly fine string-band sound. The recordings here date mostly from the ’50s and include some mellow accordion on three cuts. This is true but polished music from the magic (and very rare) moment when a viruoso develops an idiom out of a street sound without doing it in. (67:08) – John Storm Roberts