Musician, composer. Richard Anstey was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1946. Raised in a musical family, Anstey began playing alto sax and acoustic bass as a teenager, performing with Arthur Delamont’s The Kitsilano Boys’ Band and bebop players such as Ron Proby and Dale Hillary. He joined the Al Neil Trio at nineteen. The Al Neil Trio featured Al Neil on piano, Gregg Simpson on drums, and Anstey on bass. The Al Neil Trio practiced and performed in Simpson’s small rented storefront, referred to as the Sound Gallery. An active, participatory art scene grew up around the Al Neil Trio’s performances, including projections by Sam Perry and dance performances by Helen Goodwin’s dance troupe, WECO. These activities continued at the Motion Studio, the later iteration of the Sound Gallery. In addition to the Al Neil Trio, Anstey was a member of the New Dimension Jazz Trio, the West Coast Music Ensemble, Jazz Probe, the New Atlantis House Band, the Sunship Ensemble, and The Ring. Anstey also wrote music for film and television and established the music label, Blue Note Records. He passed away in 2004.
Discrete project sites documenting the work of specific artists and collectives in detail.
Essays and conversation providing a context for exploring the Project Sites and Archives.
Video interviews conducted between December 2008 and May 2009 reflecting on Vancouver’s art scene in the sixties.