Back
in June 2006, I was invited to the Vancouver
International Jazz Festival by Coastal Jazz's manager of artistic programming,
the amazing Rainbow Robert.
Nancy (my beloved wife)
and I had a wonderful time and were treated like VIPs. The last show
we saw was by virtuoso piano improvisor, Paul
Plimley. After the incredible musical session, I shared
my thoughts with Rainbow on how this music inspired me to do abstract
animation. I've wanted to do a project such as this for many years, ever since I discovered the abstract work of Oscar Fischinger, Norman Mclaren, Kandinsky and Yves Tanguy. I thought that this could be a perfect catalyst to get started. To my surprise, Rainbow said, "That's
why I brought you here, I was hoping you'd say that!"
Upon
returning to my studio, I immediately got a hold of several musical
pieces by Paul and started experimenting with animation in an effort to demontrate how moving graphics and improvised jazz could be combined in an exciting manner. The experimental footage was used for a grant application for a proposed show that would marry animation and music in a live setting. For the next two years, I continued to refine my ideas and forged ahead on the animation, working nights and weekends.
In early 2009, with the cooperation of Rainbow Robert, as well as composer and bass player, Barry Guy, a proposal outlining the vision for the development of a show called "Fixed Fragmented Fluid" was submitted to Art Partners in Creative Development. Six months later, we were delighted to get the green light!
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Big thank you to Art Partners in Creative Development for their help in making this project a reality.