Called “a force on the rise” by JazzTimes, Alison Shearer redefines contemporary jazz saxophone through her soulful fusion sound and genre-crossing artistry. Her quartet’s debut, 2022’s View From Above, earned NPR Top Ten honors, while her latest release,2025’s In The Garden, was named an NPR Best October Release.

Shearer has performed across the United States, Europe, Canada and South Asia with her quartet and as a member of Red Baraat and Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East. She has shared stages with Kurt Elling, Nate Smith, Charlie Hunter, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, and Josh Groban, appearing on NPR’s Tiny Desk and KEXP. In 2024, Shearer premiered her first contemporary classical chamber work, Apollosis, to a sold-out audience in South Carolina, kicked off a flurry of engagements and additional commissions. She signed with Pinch Records in 2025 and received commissions from USCB Chamber Music and ROCO Symphony in Houston, where she’ll premiere a saxophone concerto based on her late father’s photography in 2026.

A passionate educator for 18 years, Shearer teaches at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s High School Jazz Academy and Jazz House Kids, where her work with young students fosters community building through jazz education. She is an endorsing artist with D’ Addario Reeds.