Inspired By Ben Webster

Ben Webster always had a split musical personality. On uptempo tunes, the great tenor-saxophonist could sound quite intense, with growls, honks, roars and screams being a natural part of his vocabulary. Yet on ballads, he could purr romantically like a pussycat, playing with great tenderness and sensuality while making every sound count. In both cases, Ben Webster’s playing was more about the sound than about the notes. Coleman Hawkins, his idol and main influence early on, could run rings around Webster harmonically, since Hawkins knew every chord backwards and forwards. Hawkins could make dozens of notes fit while Webster could get his message across with one perfectly placed sound. He had a unique sound and style, one that was at its prime for more than 30 years. Glenn Zottola was best known in his earlier years as a hot trumpeter whose classic style ranged from Louis Armstrong to Clifford Brown. He also occasionally played alto in those days but in more recent times has often recorded on tenor. The versatile Zottola has been featured on a series of stimulating projects for Music Minus One including tributes to Clifford Brown (on trumpet), Charlie Parker (on alto) and Stan Getz's bossa nova period (on tenor).