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Stan Getz was truly a one of a kind steeped in the swing era and when he crossed over to Bossa Nova that music became a national phenomenon .  I was at a party and mentioned to John Travolta I was considered doing this album and he broke out into song singing some Jobim music beautifully .  I was stunned and asked  him about this and he said “I am a child of the 60s and love Stan Getz and this music.  That certainly closed the deal for me.

Triste :

First Review in “ALL About Jazz”  :

Glenn Zottola: The Bossa Nova Story, Glenn Zottola, Salutes Stan Getz (2014)

By EDWARD BLANCO, Published: June 6, 2014 | 282 views
Glenn Zottola: The Bossa Nova Story, Glenn Zottola, Salutes Stan Getz Trumpeter and saxophonist Glenn Zottola has been a serious part of the music business for more than four decades, recording thirty albums as a sideman and leader as well as adding Broadway and TV show musician to his resume. In 2014, Zottola decided to embark on the tribute circle recording a series of homage albums for the Classic Jazz Records label such as (Clifford Brown Remembered (Classic Jazz Records, 2014), Reflections of Charlie Parker (Classic Jazz Records, 2014) and now, The Bossa Nova Story, Glenn Zottola, Salutes Stan Getz. The album is a combine tribute to Getz’s involvement in the bossa nova, the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Brazilian jazz in general. The result of course, is a warm and beautiful portrait of the bossa style from the perspective of the tenor saxophone and the everlasting influence Stan Getz left on the music.

The world first learned of the samba and bossa nova from the 1959 film Black Orpheus by French director Marcel Camus where the original sound track had a Luiz Bonfa composition “Manha de Carnival” represented on this album as simply “Black Orpheus.” The album starts off with the Orpheus song led by a gorgeous introduction from Argentinian guitarist Marcelo Berestovoy leading to Zottola’s masterful solos on the piece. There have been many interpretations of Jobim’s signature piece, “The Girl from Ipanema” but somehow, Zottola’s Getz’s impersonation, along with Tom Hartman’s string arrangements, elevates this one to elite status. On the fiftieth anniversary of this classic and the twentieth anniversary of Jobim’s passing, this seemed a perfect inclusion to The Bossa Nova Story.

The gorgeous homage rolls right along with delightful treatments of such classics as “Gentle Rain,” “Once I Loved” and Zottola’s superb interpretation of Jobim’s “One Note Samba” equally as enchanting as the famous Getz instrumental rendition. Other memorable Jobim classic such as “Dindi,” Meditation,” and “Triste,” are all presented with the saxophonist leading the way with tasteful accompaniment from a stellar group and a delightful string section. Also Included in this tribute album are non-bossa standards like Cole Porter’s “I Concentrate on You,” and the Robert Wright/George Forrest classic “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”—both transformed into bossa songs on the Grammy—nominated Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (Reprise, 1967) recording.

The program end as it began with delicious interpretation of another Bonfa standard “Samba de Orfeu” where the saxophonist’s high flying solos are splendidly supported by guitarist Berestovoy with a little help from percussionist Emiliano Almeida capping off a memorable taste of Brazil. As tribute albums go, Glenn Zottola’s The Bossa Nova Story tells a tale of a jazz icon whose saxophone changed the music and of a musical style that changed the world. The great Stan Getz and Antonio Carlos Jobim are no doubt, smiling from heaven after hearing Zottola’s graceful treatment of their enduring music, well done!

Track Listing: Black Orpheus; The Girl From Ipanema; Gentle Rain; One Note Samba; Once I Loved; Dindi; Baubles, Bangles and Beads; Meditiation; Triste; I Concentrate On You; Samba de Orfeu.

Personnel: Glenn Zottola: tenor saxophone; Marcelo Berestovoy: guitar; Jamieson Trotter: piano; Tom Lerner: bass; Joe Dougherty: drums; Emiliano Almeida: percussion; Tom Hartman: string arrangements.

Glenn Zottola – Salutes Stan Getz by Nick Mondello
Etymologically, the Portuguese words bossa and bossa nova derive from a number of suggested derivations – “new trend,” “charmed” and, of course, the beach-like “fashionable wave.” The Portuguese word for genius is gênio. Of course, taking the sublime to the sublime in jazz, when the bossa nova is paired with saxophone, the result is Getz. With this lusciously performed effort, it could also be offered as Glenn, as in saxophonist, Glenn Zottola.
The great jazz artist, Stan Getz and vocalist Astrud Gilberto paired in the early 1960s to bring to the United States and its listeners a unique, elegantly smooth, samba-flavored groove that was topped with marvelous melody from another gênio, Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim. Zottola’s The Bossa Nova Story salutes Stan Getz (and, by extension, musical co-conspirators Gilberto and Jobim), but also, it provides a spectacular display of multi-instrumentalist Glenn Zottola’s awesome talent and boundless artistry. He simply nails this Five-Star performed and delivered effort. And, for that, he can also thank his globe-trotting friend and fellow Getz fan, John Travolta, who gave Zottola the idea for this album.
Unless one has been on a half-century trip to the far depths of space, the selections presented here are familiar (One Note Samba,” Meditation”). They are material drawn from what is now not only the bossa nova canon, but also, are an integral part of the jazz standards songbook (“The Girl from Ipanema,” “Gentle Rain,” “Triste”). Zottola channels – but wisely does not dare imitate – Stan Getz with a lush sound that screams “I’m inviting you. Come.” Parlay that with Zottola’s axe springing a rhythmic tension to the beat that is enchanting. While part of that sound and approach is due to Zottola’s custom-made Getz-copy saxophone mouthpiece, the real reason comes from the breath, fingers, heart and samba soul of one Glenn Zottola. He is as rhythmically smooth as a wet string bikini sashaying on Rio’s Ipanema Beach – and as sultry as they come (even on the more domestically composed “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” and “I Concentrate on You”).
Rest assured, The Bossa Nova Story is an elegant and equatorially warm album. It’s also very appropriate homage to both Stan Getz and the bossa nova genre itself. Copping an old Peter Allen tune, what’s “I Go to Rio” in Portuguese? Here, it’s Glenn Zottola.
Record Label: Classic Jazz Records

Chuck Corbisiero REVIEW: Like a summer breeze, this ‘Bossa Nova Story’ gives me oxygen. My lungs inhale the mist of warm salt earth. The melodies envelope my heart, my mind. Inhale. Exhale. Life’s great. Glenn Zottola’s here. The sounds of an angel sent from the heavens to make this life even better. Smooth, soft winds of the instrument caress the ear of my soul. God Bless him.

Vicky Felina : So very beautiful!
Glenn captures all the saudade and deep sentiment that Mestre Jobim intended to express.