150 Albums, Grammys And An Unrelenting Pursuit of Music article @ All About Jazz

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data-original-title=”” title=””>John Scofield,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Nicholas Payton, ”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Mary J Blige,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Willie Nelson,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Brad Mehldau,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Amos Lee,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Donald Harrison, Wynton Marsalis,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Kenny Garrett,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Warren Wolf, H.E.R. and many others.

When the Recording Academy announced its 2025 Grammy nominees, Archer found himself on not one but three albums: Robert Glasper’s Code Derivation (Concord Music, 2024),Walk A Mile In My Shoe by Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band (Imani Records, 2024) and John Legend’s children’s album, My Favorite Dream (Republic Records, 2024).

This is in addition to past albums that he’s played on that have been Grammy nominated and Grammy winning.

His debut album, Short Stories, (Cellar Live, 2023) was named one of the best albums of 2023 by Downbeat Magazine. The trio, pianist

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Gerald Clayton and drummer Bill Stewart, recorded most of the tracks in a single take.

Humble, yet very matter of fact in his approach to music, Archer bestows a conversation aesthetic of a philosopher. Although he hails playing with clarity, his colloquy pushes past the rhetoric of mastering technicalities and dexterity within personal playing that evokes pride and ego in many players.

“I may have been on many albums, but there is absolutely zero ego because living in New York City, there are 20 other bass players around me, probably in Brooklyn alone, that I can think of, who can play the instrument just as great.” He exudes constant self-effacement when discussing his talents—versus other bassists—whose musical undertakings have a more small-scale archive.

However, Terrell Stafford, the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Music, and Director of Jazz Studies at Temple University, might argue. For Stafford, Archer’s attack, understanding of genre worlds and conferring himself to the moment is a salient, distinctive and authentic route that his music colleagues really get with.

“He’s always been a phenomenal player,” says Stafford. “I think what’s always been interesting about his playing to me is that it’s all so honest. He’s brilliant and he has an incredible harmonic mind. So he has the freedom to go anywhere he wants.”

An anonymous comment on Jazz Guitar Online shares a perspective on a performance by the

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>John Scofield trio of which Archer is a member, noting, “Vicente was the standout of the evening to me. Great tone, good lines and he just owned the pocket all evening.”

Yet, while most of his music contributions are connected to the bass, it’s difficult to believe his first instrument was the guitar.

From Guitar to Jazz Bass

At age 16, Archer had a broken ankle from a sports injury. It healed, then he broke the other ankle. With not much to do and with a cast on his foot, he noticed his friends were starting a band and figured music might be a good move.

Thus, he asked his parents for a guitar and then started taking lessons centered on technical skills for rock, punk and grunge. Outside of his lessons, he was also immersing himself in the harmonic grooves and structures of ’80’s pop and hip-hop.

His guitar teacher was learning jazz, and asked him if he wanted to learn with him. Archer said yes and became so good that his teacher recognized he had reached his max and recommended another teacher. This teacher too would eventually admit he had no more to instruct Archer.

His training didn’t include formal jazz instruction like many middle an high schoolers today. He didn’t participate in summer jazz camps or obtain a spot in the high school jazz band. In addition to short-term teachings, through discovery of his parents’ records, he would bombard his ears with jazz. Two musicians in particular would stir up the flame within him.

“Of course, you know, the first people that caught my attention were

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Miles Davis, especially the Kind of Blue album and

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Wes Montgomery. My parents had an LP of Wes Montgomery’s A Day in the Life which is one of his more commercial records. I absolutely adored his sound on the guitar. So that’s what drew me to the guitar and jazz a little bit more. ”

During his lifetime, Wes Montgomery’s game-changing contributions to jazz guitar are rightfully admired. Listening to Archer, his respect and adulation for Montgomery shines clear. Montgomery’s work greatly guided his early development as a musician.

“I just followed him, you know, as a jazz nerd would do. I went down this rabbit hole looking for all of his records, the side band projects he was on, and finding out who his influences were, and what setup he had. So before I graduated high school, I sold everything and worked so hard to make money and bought a L-5 Gibson guitar, which was like my dream guitar. That’s the one he played. I wanted it because I wanted to be like him,” Archer says.

When it came time for choosing a college, Archer recognized he didn’t want to go down the route of becoming an engineer like his father, who worked for IBM. So he did some negotiating with his parents, as burgeoning high-schoolers do when coming into their own. He asked if he was admitted into at least one music school, would they possibly let him pursue musical studies, and they agreed.

“So I applied to the ”
data-original-title=”” title=””>New England Conservatory and I actually got in. My parents kept to me their promise and allowed me to go to New England on a jazz guitar performance degree.”

After spending a year there, he left the program and applied to Northeastern University.

“I went there on a degree studying management information systems, which was like some kind of computer science and business degree and marketing as well. So I had a double degree from Northeastern University with no plans to play music ever again,” he shares.

But that didn’t happen. Archer and his apartment roommates would play music in one of their empty bedrooms. He says, “We always had jam sessions at the house and as always, no bassist would show up for the session. So after a couple years, I bought a bass on a whim, just to have at the house, just to learn.”

The bass, in a way, replaced the guitar as his main instrument. “It was easier for me to play than the guitar, because I had the knowledge of tunes, chords, knowing how to improvise, and that’s the basic fundamentals of knowing the music.” He added to his knowledge by going to concerts, watching other bassists, applying his guitar skills, watching videos, and playing gigs. He didn’t take formal lessons but while studying for his degree, he performed at gigs while he wasn’t in the books.

Archer bought that first bass in December of 1997, and had his first touring gig in July 1998. “I’ve been touring since then.”

From the ’90’s to currently, Archer’s love, dedication and embrace of all genres is unmistakenly evident. However, some jazz recordings he’s been on include,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>John Scofield: Uncle John’s Band (Republic Records, 2024),

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Jerry Léonide: Heritage: A tribute to Miles Davis,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>George Colligan: Past Present Future (Criss Cross, 2005),

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Bruce Barth: Dedication (Origin Records, 2022),

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Danny Grissett: Promise (Criss Cross, 2006),

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Jaleel Shaw: Perspective (Fresh Sound, 2004).

The list goes on and includes,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Donald Harrison: Freestyle (Nayer Heyer Record, 2004), Yoonseung Cho: Brooklyn Rainfall (Blue Room Music, 2023),

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Meetings:The Subatlantic Suite (Konkave Records, 2023), Victor Gould:Thoughts Become Things (CD Baby, 2019), Myron Walden: This Way (Fresh Sound Records, 2003), Gregory Groover Jr: Lovabye (Criss Cross, 2024), Black Art Jazz Collective: Truth to Power (High Note Records, 2024). Archer is featured oftentimes on other albums with these groups.

In 1999, he met Robert Glasper and shortly after began playing with his trio, which consists of Glasper, and drummer Damion Reid. Eventually, Blue Note made the very smart move of signing the trio. Over the past 20 years, the label has released three recordings of the group which include Canvas (2005), In My Element (2007), and the Grammy nominated Covered (2015).

Archer also plays on non-trio Glasper albums such as Keys to The City (Loma Vista Records, 2024), and Code Derivation (Concord, 2024).

The 2025 Grammy nominated Code Derivation explores what Glasper calls the father-son relationship between jazz and hip-hop. The album, exclusive to Apple Music, consists of original compositions by Glasper. Those compositions are given to a hip-hop producer to “flip.”

The “flip” means Glasper’s original jazz composition is re-contextualized and re-presented as a hip-hop production with heavy usage of the art of sampling, and includes emcees picked by Glasper—on the track after the jazz composition.

Archer’s bass playing on the album is stellar, especially on “Madiba,” where he is given the main theme rendered with an unrelenting, unforgettable, “fresh to death” bass line.

Short Stories Emerges

In a performance with John Scofield at Leverkusner Jazztage 2023, Archer equanimously played “Blue Monk” in B flat, by

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Thelonious Monk. With emotion and verve, he drove the harmonic structure of the piece with deep, grounding tones that propel the music forward, unperturbed.

Yet, this might have not been the case at the beginning of his career. Archer notes that when he started playing, initially, his personality was, “shy.” Today, he has transformed into a person who is more self-aware and rooted in his own opinions. He credits the “ups and downs” as bringing out a better and more assured musical self.

“The one thing I realized about music or any type of art is that your life is completely synonymous with how you play your instrument, your music, how you interact, how you voice your opinions or anything. Knowing this, more and more, I’m able to be a better person to myself and be a better musician,” he says. “I’ve gotten stronger or probably more aware of myself. And so I feel like I’m expressing myself more musically or better.”

He adds, “For me to actually say no to something or even show someone that I didn’t like that particular thing, be it personally or musically, took a lot out of me. It’s not my personality, but I realized that I’m the only one that’s hurting.”

Consequently, as his career and confidence matured, his own album wasn’t a goal.

When trumpeter/producer/educator

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Jeremy Pelt approached Archer about creating his own album, he said no. Pelt tried again, and Archer declined. Yet what changed his mind was encouragement from his wife Aiko, which became what was needed for him to embark on this monumental moment in his career.

He then pulled in Grammy nominated pianist Clayton and drum virtuoso Stewart that became the two heavyweights to join Archer on this debut album journey.

“We were on the road for almost five years straight in the rhythm section of John Scofield. It was easy to play with them because they know me. I know them very well. We spent so much time together, so it’s not like I even had to explain [my ideas],” he says.

However, although he had the group sealed, the ideas for the album just didn’t come as easily as Archer would have thought. “I was like, ‘Oh, I have four months into this record date, some kind of inspiration will hit me to record.’ One month goes by, nothing. Another month goes by, nothing.”

He added some compositions by others, and also fantastic new original music that came from a unique place. He turned to musical snippets or ” voice memos” that he had captured in his cell phone. The unfinished samples were enough to work with.

“And that’s what ‘Mirai,’ ‘Lighthouse’ and ‘Bye Nashville’ are. It’s just voice memos of things, ideas I had on my phone, that I just put together,” he shares.

After months, it was the morning of the recording that he solidified within himself what other artists’ songs he wanted to use on the album, in addition to some of his original pieces.

The album stands as an important aural rumination of Archer’s life, such as his move from New York to Nashville and back to New York. “After I had left New York, I needed a break, so I moved to Nashville, and it was a good one.” he shares.

In Nashville, Archer seemed to musically expand into new landscapes providing his skills for non-jazz music. “I actually did bluegrass, country pop, Christian pop and a wide range of things that were non-jazz related while I was down there.”

But on March 3, 2020, a tornado came through the city and the home where he, his wife Aiko, and daughter lived, was destroyed. “I lost everything,” he said and described the scenario as “bittersweet.”

“Bye Nashville” is one original composition that musically documents that moment. The entire family was with Archer in New York, while he was playing a gig. Luckily, no one was physically hurt, but it forced them to immediately consider a new living situation.

Family is important to Archer. During the interview, what shined through is a heartfelt warmth and love for his daughter.

His daughter “adored” the 2018 Japanese animation film Mirai written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda, and they watched it “a ton of times,” during the events of 2020. Through the lens of a young seven-year old boy, the movie explicates how the main character navigates his feelings as his mother is pregnant with his sister—shifting the attention in the household from the young boy to his sister, with a unique foreshadowing filming technique.

The tornado happened on the heels of COVID-19, an unexpected worldwide epidemic that thrust many into unwanted fear, sickness, and uncertainty. Archer was concerned about these events and the perspicacity of his dear little girl. “I was thinking of the film, but I was also thinking about my daughter at the same time, because I’m thinking about her future and how this will affect her.”

On “Mirai,” Archer, Clayton and Stewart are pulling from a sweet place. The soft, tender and charming piece evokes a feeling of wonder with typically sophisticated chord choices by Clayton. Archer sonically captures the tender topic of the movie and the special moment of watching it with his daughter.

Short Stories also includes “Message To A Friend,” which invites the listener into an emotional and slower compositional expression with a tinge of melancholic beauty articulated through its speechy instrumental dialogue.

Then there is “Round Comes Round,” a Clayton composition from his 2011 album, Bond: The Paris Sessions (Emarcy Records). Archer includes a two-minute bass solo that he describes as “angular,” with its deeply modern jazz gestures and interchanges. “I saw the playfulness of Gerald’s intro, and the fragmented way he was playing. I kept that same feeling he gave me. It’s his composition, and I kept that (feeling) throughout the piece. I tried to continue the setting that he set for us to play,” he said.

These pieces along with others on Short Stories got the attention of jazz publishing giant Downbeat Magazine, and they recognized it as one of the best albums of 2023.

Move from Nashville back to New York

Nashville seemed an important moment for Archer, but he and his family found peace back in Brooklyn.

“The tornado happened, so I’m back to New York, and this is where I feel most at home. But that’s why I said it’s bittersweet. As much as I had a good time in Nashville, I knew it wasn’t the right city for me. I still tried to make it work just because I had a lot of friends and connections in the music.” he shares. “It was fun for that period of time.”

He adds, “I feel we’re all much happier being back in Brooklyn. I did enjoy the moments I had in Nashville, but I’m also happy to be back in New York. At the same time, the emotions of losing everything and just starting new is completely hard. So you go from being frustrated with that—to feeling we’re okay. We’ve always been together, so that’s really all that matters, you know?”

Jazz as Language

“I have to keep reminding both students and myself that it’s a language just like anything else, it’s your speaking voice.” says Archer.

For Archer, playing is a type of speech, looking at a jazz transcription is only a small part of executing a song. “You’re not transcribing someone for the actual notes. Because it is that person’s story, it’s the way that person plays their song. It involves the way musicians phrase, weave in and out of chords, how they articulate notes, and what is the best sound for that particular moment.”

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Charlie Parker‘s execution on the saxophone, for Archer, is a prime example of speaking when playing. “If you listen to the way Charlie Parker plays his horn, without even knowing jazz, it sounds like he’s talking to you, because it’s not like the phrases are not equal in a sense. He’s talking to me while he’s playing his part,” he says.

“Some of his phrases are slurred or ghosted notes in the sense that you can’t actually transcribe it because he was just playing what he felt at that moment, and it’s his language,” he adds. “So when universities or schools have changed Charlie Parker’s playing into a lick, or you play a song as a tune, this isn’t necessarily that person’s voice. We’ve lost that.” he says.

Improvisation moments are powerful, according to Archer, as the melody and harmony are continually being aurally engaged and negotiated by the band, and the listener.

“You’re actually creating your own voice, your story or your melody instantaneously, right in the moment. You don’t have time to prepare for it because there’s so many factors depending on what the solos played before you. When it’s time for you to solo, that’s your story, that’s your melody at that moment,” he says.

He also notes that Miles Davis,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Prince, Whitney Houston,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Michael Jackson and Beyonce all have something in common. “Regardless of the genre of the music, they have a clear attack and they have a way of creating some kind of mood or feeling, be it happy, dancing, sad, and they use their voice to show us that exact feeling.”

He adds, “Whether using it instrumentally or using their speaking voice to sing. Same as in speeches, there’s someone who can say ‘no’ quietly, but it has more strength than someone saying ‘no’ screaming at you.”

Archer also feels when listening to a singer in various genres, you can hear them translate a story within the piece given, in their own choice of note timbre and personal creative style. Dolly Parton singing “I Will Always Love You” is different from Whitney Houston’s way of singing the song. “You can sing the same melody someone else sings, but it sounds like you wrote the song,” he says.

“It’s knowing how to use your voice, taking into consideration pauses, the space between the notes, the sound, it’s a story. The artist is speaking to you and can create masses,” Archer says.

“Public speaking is no different than someone playing an instrument. It’s all the same,” he says.

With 150 albums in his catalog, Archer’s approach to the instrument proves especial. “I know how to tell my story with a few notes. I can tell someone how I feel with a few notes,” he says. “The situations I get called for is because they want me specifically, not a bassist. So I’m lucky to offer what I do, how I hear the music.”

The producer of Grammy Award winning singer John Legend reached out to Archer at around 10 a.m. one morning, to produce some tracks for Legend’s children’s album.

When Archer asked about the due date, the producer said he needed it that day. The track given to him had background strings and Legend singing and playing the piano, yet no drums or other instruments. Archer was able to play as if he was the band and engage instrumentalists that were not present.

The album received a Grammy nomination for 2025.

In a comment to Qwest TV, American journalist Ashley Kahn noted, “He has a very distinctive sound on the bass, very warm, very solid. If you have Vicente on the gig, it’s a little stamp of approval because it means Vicente is supporting that music, and you know that music is going that much better. So, Vicente has been around long enough that he has that kind of stature, as well.”

Archer’s Upcoming and New Projects

“I love music,” Archer says.

“It’s not that I’m necessarily the best player, but it is because I offer myself, my heart, and my love for my instrument as well the love for myself, to the people I perform with. So you feel that feeling, which is that I’m trying to make the best music that I can from my instrument. This inspires others and shares the joy I feel when playing this bass or music with others,” he adds.

Archer has new and upcoming projects where he’s playing with artists such as

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Warren Wolf,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Orrin Evans,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Peter Bernstein,

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Brad Mehldau, and

”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Al Foster, to name a few.

Also in the works is new music which will be different from Short Stories. “It’s more of my singer-songwriter thing, where I’m playing more guitar, which I haven’t done on any record. I mean, I play guitar on records, but it’s not my record or my songs.” Archer said. “There will be singing too.”

He is a beloved teacher whose authentic humility draws young people. When not playing, he’s teaching bassists at three top music schools that include, The New School of Music in New York, Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia and The Berklee College of Music.

In these educational spaces, he’s mentoring younger musicians who have the unasked task of navigating and negotiating more musical forms, more sounds, and more ways of handling the music as technology grows and times change. This is a skill that he’s become celebrated for and has made him a game changer in Western acoustic bass studies.

Stafford notes, “Students, whether they play bass or not, want to be around him and request him as a teacher, even if they don’t play the bass, which is a really powerful testament to who he is and what he offers the students.”

With contributions to over 150 albums underneath his belt, an educator at three major schools, Archer’s love of music emphatically spills everywhere, positively impacting those closely around him. And those he’s never met.

“I want to spread that joy and love to everything.” Archer says. “I am very happy with what I have in my life, which is my love for my family, and love for my daughter. And that inspires me to work even harder or continue the craft that I have because they like that I do this. And that’s inspiring for me to work even harder or continue the craft that I have because they like that I do this. They enjoy the things that I enjoy, and they see that I’m happy with it. So that inspires them to be happy and want to be a participant,” he shares.

“This is our family, you know, based off of this piece of wood. It’s a great thing.”

Special thanks to jazz pianist and educator Yves-Anthony Laur who helped transcribe and unpack some of Archer’s work for this article.

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