Glenn Zottola – Salutes Stan Getz
From : Classic jazz Records

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.

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