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Update June 30th, 2010 - The show premiere on June 25th was a huge success! But not without its share of traumas...

We had several technical problems during the week before the premiere and I had to operate with very little sleep. I felt that I was faced with obstacles that seemed unsurmountable... yet we prevailed. Thanks in big part to my wife, Nancy, who took a proactive role in the performance by becoming my technical assistant, and to Barry Guy, whose extreme professionalism shaped the presentation. In the end, everything worked out fantastic, and the sold out audience gave us a standing ovation.

The band was absolutely incredible, Barry, Maya, Peggy, Paul, Lucas, Peter and Evan - all fabulous musicians, creative thinkers and great people as well. Hanging out with them for a week was an enriching experience.

A huge thank you to Rainbow Robert and Ken Pickering, from Coastal Jazz; and to Ben Laurence for saving our butts with his technical expertise.

I think it's safe to say that we haven't seen the last of FFF.



Photo by Chris Cameron

Photo by Chris Cameron

Michel Gagne - Animator

Barry Guy - Composer & Bass


Paul Plimley - Piano
Peggy Lee - Cello
Lucas Niggli - Percussion
Peter Evans - Trumpet
Evan Parker - Saxophone

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How The Project Came About
by Michel Gagné

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.