Tim Archer
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Tim Archer was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. His mother comes from a long line of musicians and band directors, so a career in music was not unexpected. Tim began playing trumpet at the age of 11 and at the age of 16 began playing electric and upright bass, his main axes ever since. On trumpet, Tim became one of the leading classical soloists in Oregon, winning the All-State solo contest in high school, and performing in numerous ensembles, including the All-State concert band and the Western International Band Conference's top band. On bass, both upright and electric, Tim played jazz throughout his high school career and was selected to perform in the All-State jazz band twice, as well as the All-Northwest jazz band. He was the Oregon Pac-10 soloist of the year twice.
In Portland, Tim was able to study with Phil Baker and to perform with many of Portland's great jazz artists including Ron Steen, Ben Medler, Darrell Grant, and Mel Brown. He performed often in the heart of downtown Portland while still only in high school, learning and honing his craft as a jazz musician.
In 2004, Tim moved to Los Angeles to study at USC with the great John Clayton. He is pursuing a degree in Jazz Performance. While at USC, Tim has performed with diverse artists such as Robben Ford, Ali and AJ, and Russ Ferrante as well as USC faculty Frank Potenza, Bill Watrous, and in a "superbass" format, John Clayton himself.
Tim is a founding member of the fusion/rock/hip-hop collective known as Vajra with fellow USC student Jon Willis on drums. He also plays with The Midnight Groove Movement, a supergroup with the ultimate goal of "never playing in 4/4 and always making it feel groovy." He also performs in Kevin Bachelder's Sun Engine, as well as the always intense Firestorm Quartet. Tim plans to stay in L.A. after graduation and to continue to tour, record and perform locally, nationally and beyond.