 Frey has been described as "a witty, urbane figure whose wide-ranging genius and charisma shine in his performances onstage and in conversation offstage".Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Studs Terkel referred to him as "a Renaissance Man".In a later interview in The Guardian celebrating his 95th birthday, Terkel discussed his own "diverse and idiosyncratic taste in music, from Bob Dylan to Alexander Frey, Louis Armstrong to Woodie Guthrie".