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Wendell Marshall
Wendell Marshall
American jazz musician; double bassist
1
Taft Jordan
Taft Jordan
Jazz trumpeter
2
Jimmy Hamilton
Jimmy Hamilton
American jazz musician
3
Joe Benjamin
Joe Benjamin
American musician
4
Osie Johnson
Osie Johnson
American jazz drummer, arranger and singer
5
J. C. Heard
J. C. Heard
American musician
6
Joe Newman
Joe Newman
American musician
7
Vic Dickenson
Vic Dickenson
American jazz trombonist
8
Jerome Richardson
Jerome Richardson
American jazz multi-instrumentalist
9
George Duvivier
George Duvivier
American musician
10
Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis
American musician
11
Emmett Berry
Emmett Berry
American musician
12
Johnny Hodges
Johnny Hodges
American alto saxophonist
13
Gus Johnson
Gus Johnson
American musician
14
Gene Ramey
Gene Ramey
American musician
15
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
American jazz saxophonist
16
Art Taylor
Art Taylor
American jazz drummer
17
Ben Webster
Ben Webster
American saxophonist
18
Frank Wess
Frank Wess
American saxophonist and flautist, composer and arranger
19
Eddie Jones
Eddie Jones
American musician
20
Charlie Persip
Charlie Persip
American jazz drummer
21
Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell
American jazz guitarist
22
Ernie Royal
Ernie Royal
American jazz trumpeter
23
Britt Woodman
Britt Woodman
American jazz trombonist
24
Buddy Tate
Buddy Tate
American musician
25
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
American saxophonist
26
Clark Terry
Clark Terry
American swing and bebop musician
27
Budd Johnson
Budd Johnson
American musician
28
Leonard Gaskin
Leonard Gaskin
American musician
29
Jimmy Forrest
Jimmy Forrest
African American jazz musician
30
Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard
American jazz drummer
31
Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt
American jazz saxophonist
32
Rudy Powell
Rudy Powell
American jazz musician
33
Lloyd Trotman
Lloyd Trotman
American musician
34
Oscar Pettiford
Oscar Pettiford
American musician
35
Hilton Jefferson
Hilton Jefferson
American jazz saxophonist
36
Sam Jones
Sam Jones
American double bassist and cellist
37
Peck Morrison
Peck Morrison
American musician
38
Shorty Baker
Shorty Baker
American musician
39
Ray Nance
Ray Nance
American musician
40
Sonny Greer
Sonny Greer
American jazz drummer
41
Jimmy Woode
Jimmy Woode
American bassist
42
Al Grey
Al Grey
American jazz musician
43
Urbie Green
Urbie Green
American jazz trombonist
44
Quentin Jackson
Quentin Jackson
American musician
45
Buck Clayton
Buck Clayton
American jazz trumpeter
46
Al Hall
Al Hall
American musician
47
Billy Butler
Billy Butler
American musician
48
Wild Bill Davis
Wild Bill Davis
American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger
49
Claude Hopkins
Claude Hopkins
American pianist
50
Bennie Green
Bennie Green
American musician
51
Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims
American jazz saxophonist
52
Freddie Green
Freddie Green
American jazz guitarist
53
Aaron Bell
Aaron Bell
American musician
54
Skeeter Best
Skeeter Best
American musician
55
Thad Jones
Thad Jones
American jazz trumpeter
56
Barry Galbraith
Barry Galbraith
American guitarist
57
Cat Anderson
Cat Anderson
American jazz trumpeter
58
Jo Jones
Jo Jones
American jazz drummer
59
Ed Shaughnessy
Ed Shaughnessy
American jazz drummer
60
Cliff Jackson
Cliff Jackson
American pianist
61
Jimmy Raney
Jimmy Raney
American musician
62
Dave Bailey
Dave Bailey
American drummer
63
Joe Wilder
Joe Wilder
American trumpeter
64
Matthew Gee
Matthew Gee
American musician
65
Willie Smith
Willie Smith
American musician
66
Shad Collins
Shad Collins
American musician
67
Mousey Alexander
Mousey Alexander
Jazz drummer
68
Jimmy Rowles
Jimmy Rowles
American jazz pianist
69
Mundell Lowe
Mundell Lowe
American jazz guitarist (1922-2017)
70
Jimmy Blanton
Jimmy Blanton
American musician
71
Buster Cooper
Buster Cooper
American trombonist
72
Harry Edison
Harry Edison
American trumpeter
73
George Tucker
George Tucker
American musician
74
Bobby Durham
Bobby Durham
American musician
75
Jimmy Witherspoon
Jimmy Witherspoon
American jump blues singer
76
Doug Watkins
Doug Watkins
American jazz double bassist
77
Åke Persson
Åke Persson
Swedish musician
78
Larry Gales
Larry Gales
American musician
79
Harold Vick
Harold Vick
American musician
80
Nat Adderley
Nat Adderley
American recording artist; jazz cornet and trumpet player
81
Leroy Vinnegar
Leroy Vinnegar
American bassist
Al Sears
American jazz tenor saxophonist

Al Sears

Intro
American jazz tenor saxophonist
Genres
Record Labels
Music

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 became one of Ellington's best-known soloists and remained in his employ 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 a variety of R&B albums in the 1950s and recorded two albums for Swingville Records 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.