Led by trombonist and composer David Manson, and featuring guest artist Sam Rivers on saxophone, it was recorded on January 3, 2002, at Springs Theatre in Tampa, Florida, and was released later that year by Isospin Labs.

But, the thrust of this outing is founded upon bouncy rhythmic structures to coincide with the artists' expressive unison choruses...

"[8] Writing for JazzTimes, Duck Baker commented: "Fluid Motion serves both as a reminder of the presence of a lion in our midst and a promise of brilliant things to come from Manson and Powell.

"[10] Frank Rubolino of One Final Note remarked: "this music, which contains haunting melodies and exciting playing throughout, is very much a group effort... any chance to hear Rivers is a worthy endeavor, and this performance only reinforces why that is so.

"[11] Creative Loafing's Eric Snider stated that the album "bustles with vitality," with sound that has "a depth and overall liveness generally missing from large-label efforts."