Al Sears

Albert Omega Sears (February 21, 1910 – March 23, 1990)^[1] was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader, sometimes credited as Big Al Sears.

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Al Sears
Al Sears (left) with Johnny Hodges, 1946
Background information
Birth name	Albert Omega Sears
Born	(1910-02-21)February 21, 1910 Macomb, Illinois, U.S.
Died	March 23, 1990(1990-03-23) (aged 80) St. Albans, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Saxophone

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Sears was born in Macomb, Illinois, United States.^[2] His first major gig came in 1928 when he replaced Johnny Hodges in Chick Webb's ensemble.^[2] Following this he played with Elmer Snowden (1931–32), then led his own groups between 1933 and 1941.^[2] 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.^[2] He remained with Ellington until 1949,^[2] 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;^[2] 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."^[2] 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.^[1]

In 1990, he died in St. Albans, New York, at the age of 80.^[1]