Al Sears
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. |
Birth and Death Data: Born February 22, 1910 (Macomb), Died March 23, 1990 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1957
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, saxophone
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 89 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | D4VB-0454 | 10-in. | 12/1/1944 | I'm beginning to see the light | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Joya Sherrill | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D4VB-0455 | 10-in. | 12/1/1944 | Don't you know I care (or don't you care to know) | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Al Hibbler | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D4VB-0456 | 10-in. | 12/1/1944 | I didn't know about you | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Joya Sherrill | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0012 | 10-in. | 1/4/1945 | Carnegie blues | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0014 | 10-in. | 1/4/1945 | The mood to be wooed | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Johnny Hodges | Jazz/dance band, with saxophone solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0015 | 10-in. | 1/4/1945 | (All of a sudden) my heart sings | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Joya Sherrill | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0232 | 10-in. | 4/26/1945 | Kissing bug | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Joya Sherrill | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0233 | 10-in. | 5/1/1945 | Everything but you | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Joya Sherrill | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0234 | 10-in. | 5/1/1945 | (Otto make that) riff staccato | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Ray Nance | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0262 | 10-in. | 5/11/1945 | Caravan | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0265 | 10-in. | 5/14/1945 | In a sentimental mood | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0274 | 10-in. | 5/16/1945 | Every hour on the hour (I fall in love with you) | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Al Hibbler | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0518 | 10-in. | 7/30/1945 | Things ain't what they used to be | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0662 | 10-in. | 10/8/1945 | Tell ya what I'm gonna do | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Joya Sherrill | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0663 | 10-in. | 10/8/1945 | Come to baby, do! | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Joya Sherrill | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0949 | 10-in. | 11/26/1945 | I'm just a lucky so-and-so | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Al Hibbler | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D5VB-0951 | 10-in. | 11/26/1945 | The wonder of you | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Joya Sherrill | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D6VB-2093 | 10-in. | 7/9/1946 | Rockabye river | Duke Ellington Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D6VB-2094 | 10-in. | 7/9/1946 | Suddenly it jumped | Duke Ellington Orchestra ; Jimmy Hamilton ; Taft Jordan ; Oscar Pettiford | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D6VB-2095 | 10-in. | 7/9/1946 | Transblucency (a blue fog that you can almost see through) | Duke Ellington Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D6VB-2096 | 10-in. | 7/9/1946 | Just squeeze me (but don't tease me) | Duke Ellington Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D6VB-2113 | 10-in. | 8/26/1946 | Back home again in Indiana | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Piano solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D6VB-2114 | 10-in. | 8/26/1946 | Blue is the night | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Piano solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D6VB-2115 | 10-in. | 8/26/1946 | Lover man (Oh, where can you be?) | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with piano and female vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D6VB-2116 | 10-in. | 8/26/1946 | Just you, just me | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Piano solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Sears, Al," accessed November 13, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109665.
Sears, Al. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 13, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109665.
"Sears, Al." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 13 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Sears, Al, 1910-1990 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no93022660
Wikidata: Al Sears - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q195171
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/51880055
MusicBrainz: Al Sears - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/52f9e4c8-27e2-4151-9d3c-8a505d0d044b
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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