Al Sears

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American jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader (1910–1990)

title: "Al Sears" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1910-births", "1990-deaths", "american-jazz-bandleaders", "american-jazz-saxophonists", "american-male-saxophonists", "duke-ellington-orchestra-members", "groove-records-artists", "jazz-musicians-from-illinois", "people-from-macomb,-illinois", "rca-victor-artists", "20th-century-american-musicians", "20th-century-american-saxophonists", "american-male-jazz-musicians", "20th-century-american-male-musicians"] description: "American jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader (1910–1990)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Sears" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader (1910–1990) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameAl Sears
imageJohnny Hodges and Al Sears, Aquarium, New York, ca. Nov. 1946 (William P. Gottlieb 04191).jpg
captionAl Sears (left) with Johnny Hodges, 1946
birth_nameAlbert Omega Sears
birth_date
birth_placeMacomb, Illinois, U.S.
death_date
death_placeSt. Albans, New York City, U.S.
genreJazz
occupationMusician
instrumentSaxophone
::

| name = Al Sears | image = Johnny Hodges and Al Sears, Aquarium, New York, ca. Nov. 1946 (William P. Gottlieb 04191).jpg | caption = Al Sears (left) with Johnny Hodges, 1946 | birth_name = Albert Omega Sears | birth_date = | birth_place = Macomb, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = St. Albans, New York City, U.S. | genre = Jazz | occupation = Musician | instrument = Saxophone | years_active = | label =

Albert Omega Sears (February 21, 1910 – March 23, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader, sometimes credited as Big Al Sears.

Sears was born in Macomb, Illinois, United States. His first major gig came in 1928 when he replaced Johnny Hodges in Chick Webb's ensemble. Following this he played with Elmer Snowden (1931–32), then led his own groups between 1933 and 1941. In the early 1940s he was with Andy Kirk (1941–42) and Lionel Hampton (1943-44) before he became a member of Duke Ellington's Orchestra in 1944, replacing Ben Webster. He remained with Ellington until 1949, when first Jimmy Forrest and then Paul Gonsalves took over his chair. He played with Johnny Hodges in 1951–52 and recorded the tune "Castle Rock" with him; the tune became a hit but was released under Hodges's name.

Sears was in Alan Freed's band when Freed did live shows, being introduced as "Big Al Sears." He played as a studio musician on R&B albums in the 1950s and recorded two albums for Swingville in 1960. He also owned several record labels, including Arock, Serock, and Gator.

In 1990, he died in St. Albans, New York, at the age of 80.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

References

Other sources

  • Scott Yanow, [ Al Sears] at Allmusic
  • Scott DeVeaux and Barry Kernfeld. "Sears, Al." The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press.

References

  1. (2013). "Blues – A Regional Experience". Praeger Publishers.
  2. (1992). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Guinness Publishing]].

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1910-births1990-deathsamerican-jazz-bandleadersamerican-jazz-saxophonistsamerican-male-saxophonistsduke-ellington-orchestra-membersgroove-records-artistsjazz-musicians-from-illinoispeople-from-macomb,-illinoisrca-victor-artists20th-century-american-musicians20th-century-american-saxophonistsamerican-male-jazz-musicians20th-century-american-male-musicians