from BC Music Review
The Accademia are not your standard classical quintet. They are made up of two saxophone players, a violinist, a bassist, and a drummer with full kit. But they are ideally suited to the demands of the music... Tommy Fortmann's music is cut from the same cloth as Frank Zappa's, but reflects his more conventional orchestral background. Although the men originally did meet when Fortmann was fronting a rock band Zappa wanted to sign to his label in the seventies, Fortmann soon after became involved with composition and was receiving commissions from the European Union and the Opera of Zurich. His and Zappa's work compliment each other wonderfully, but Fortmann's shows more deliberate intent behind his compositions. While Frank set out to write a piece of music expressing an emotion, Fortmann's music is put together with considerations of structure and form having more of an influence. He is guiding the listener to where he wants them to go.
