Bass Player: Vincente Archer

Archer began in self-taught guitar for 16 years and studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA with Gene Bertfocinio, Jerry Bergonzi and Danilo Perez. Archer left for a year to study the bass guitar at Northeastern University. Soon he was discovered by Donald Harrison and Eric Reed and taken on tour. In the following years he played with musicians such as Terence Blanchard, Kenny Garrett, Wynton Marsalis/Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Stanley Jordan and Stefon Harris. Archer recorded with Donald Harrison in 1998 (Free to Be, Impulse!). In 2000 Archer complete his business studies in Management Information Systems and Business Management and moved to New York City.

From the 2000s Archer played with Louis Hayes’ Cannonball Legacy Band, Marcus Printup, Nicholas Payton, Myron Walden, George Colligan, Jaleel Shaw, Walter Smith III, Robert Glasper, Chihiro Yamanaka, Marcus Strickland and John Scofield.

In the 2010s, he also worked on recordings of Bruce Barth, Norah Jones, Matthew Stevens and the Black Art Jazz Collective. In the field of jazz he was involved in 47 recording sessions between 1998 and 2017.

The attached transcription features Archer’s written bass line for the tune ‘Free Style’ from the Donald Harrison album, ‘The Burners’. It is not altogether clear who played the bass on the recording and there are listings that reference Ron Carter but, to our ears, this doesn’t sound like Ron Carter. Apologies to all concerned if we have got it wrong but the performance is entirely through composed so, in terms of the transcription, it is not a ‘deal breaker’. The piece has that ‘broken beat’ feel where the drum and bass part feels lazy and not