Al Sears

Al Sears
Sears at the New York Aquarium, 1946; by William P. Gottlieb
Sears at the New York Aquarium, 1946; by William P. Gottlieb
Background information
Also known as"Big Al Sears"
Born
Albert Omega Sears

(1910-02-21)February 21, 1910
Macomb, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 23, 1990(1990-03-23) (aged 80)
St. Albans, Queens, New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • bandleader
InstrumentTenor saxophone
Years active1920s–1960s
Labels
Formerly of

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. 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, Queens, at the age of 80.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

References

  1. 1 2 3 Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger Publishers. pp. 222/223. ISBN 978-0-313-34423-7. LCCN 2012047437. OCLC 861199661.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1st ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2215. ISBN 978-0-85112-939-6.

General references