MUSICWEB:
I recently reviewed Fortmann's Saxophone sonata on an Antes disc where it nestled comfortably in a mixed programme by other composers. Here Thomas Fortmann stands alone, in a disc devoted entirely to his works for saxophone.

As noted elsewhere the Sonata is in three conventionally written movements but it covers enjoyable stylistic ground. The bluesy songfulness that suffuses it announces Fortmann as an unstuffy admirer of the colloquial American muse. The central panel brings more active, though hardly militant, pianism. The Hopperesque slow movement adopts a more aloof, guarded and hooded profile, whereas the finale is freewheeling, reprising the blues motif of the opening with pride, this time rejuvenated.

Catholic Blues goes from delicacy to the slow insinuation of the Blues, in looser funkier lines than the sonata. Steve Potts's (presumably) rolling, improvised lines later on add a hard core jazz profile. BacH Cab (as written) exudes baroque procedure as well as richly chordal piano, though the piano does espouse more biting, acerbic writing beneath the sax's aloof and independent line. There's a funky Keith Jarrett element in Eben, eben amidst the more reflective material. A rock groove runs throughout Three Piggies in Clover. His work for saxophone quartet is interesting; Sonkran cleaves to Fortmann's more cerebral and withdrawn side whilst Pop Oh Kakapitl - the man has a way with titles - is genial and tuneful.

The Sonatina has Ragtimey exchanges between the soprano and tenor protagonists and engaging it is too. And in A Little American Night Music he plays with - what else? - some Wolfgang Amadeus, infusing it with Ragtime, Swing and dance patterns galore. A Whale in the Circus alerts us to the zany side of things, a real big top sensibility written to amuse and entertain.

Fortmann is no stuffed shirt, no long-hair merchant, and no purveyor of tone rows. His music is locked into jazz, and rock backbeat and the sinuous song of saxophonic yearning. His musicians serve him finely, and they've been well recorded.
Jonathan Woolf

NEW CLASSICS:
Thomas Fortmann was born in Switzerland and became a successful songwriter during the 1970s. He studied composition and music theory in Bern, Switzerland, and wrote his first hit at the age of 16. He subsequently released over a hundred other titles in more than 27 countries, working with artists such as  Alexis Korner, Love Generation, Dieter Dierks, Cockpit, Su Kramer, Italian singer Daniela Davoli and many others. He also wrote a successful musical, Wilhelm Tell, featuring German rock star Udo Lindenberg in the lead. After ten years, Fortmann turned his back on rock music and dedicated himself to further studies in composition and instrumentation. This album gathers together for the first time all of his works composed for the saxophone, in various combinations. All were written between 1984 and 2008, and show Fortmann's development as a key composer for the instrument. The outstanding performers include Marco Falaschi (soprano and alto saxophones) and the Berlioz Saxophone Quartet, and the pieces have such intriguing titles as Catholic Blues, Three Piggies in Clover, Pop Oh Kakapitl and A Whale in the Circus (from the stage production ‘Collidis Pinocchio', with soprano Ruber Marani).
John Pitt

MIDWEST RECORD:
A collection that brings together a wide range of Fortmann's compositions from various sources and various players.  A cat that worked his way around the music biz from cabaret to classical, this is a fine sax tour de force that spotlights a composer who has his hand on the wheel throughout and deserves a wider audience.  The kind of set that shows some cats have the power to roam beyond boundaries, this is a real treat for the open eared.
Chris Spector