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