The Mick Archer Trio has been around in many incarnations since he started
working on the once busy Rush Street jazz scene in the early 80's.
Many of those venues (Billie's, Sage's, Blondies, Yvette's, Toulouse,
The Happy Medium, Milt Trenier's) are gone, as are some of the suburban
jazz joints (Geonotti's, Sage's West, The Living Room) where he worked
with a variety of rhythm sections, sometimes accompanying singers
(Bill Acosta, Milt Trenier) and as an opening act (Ray Charles, Jay
Leno). During those years Mick Archer incorporated other elements
of his playing (blues, rock, pop, funk, r&b) into the traditional
jazz trio sound, and came up with uniquely his own.
Instead of relying entirely on the great standards of the swing era,
he took contemporary pop tunes and swung them. And also being a piano
bar entertainer (both solo and the dueling piano format) he was able
to put his bluesy voice and offbeat humor into his trio, making it
a real 'act.'
Definitely not background music — that is, unless that's what
the gig requires! A fun, versatile ensemble that works well in many
settings for all types of audiences, including dancers as well as
listeners. As the song samples demonstrate, this is a very entertaining
as well as musically compelling act.
