New York City saxophonist and composer Alison Shearer releases a coming-of-age musical testament with her sophomore studio album, In The Garden (Pinch Records), set for release on Friday, October 10, 2025. The rising star jazz saxophonist dwells In The Garden of sound and self to discover what’s been waiting to be unearthed. A recording she embarked on with engineer and Pinch Records label owner Scott Lindner, In The Garden is a gift, following Shearer’s years of honing her singular voice and emerging as a leading female jazz artist.

Whereas Alison Shearer’s debut album, View From Above (NPR Music “Top 10 Albums of 2022” – Nikki Birch), was a tribute to her late father the legendary civil rights-era photojournalist John Shearer, In The Garden finds Alison composing several years after her father’s battle with prostate cancer (he died on June 22, 2019) and feeling as though she’s finally found her sound. “Artists compose music to help people access their emotions through sound, like no other medium can,” Shearer says. “Writing allows me to understand who I am, and at 36, I’m finally living the life I’ve wanted and I’m ready to speak out and tell my story so other women in music can hopefully have a journey that’s a little bit easier.”

In The Garden centers around Alison’s working band featuring Kevin Bernstein (piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizers), Marty Kenney (bass), and Horace Phillips (drums). Shearer is able to exhibit a pop sensibility within a complex rhythmic thicket; she likes to describe the album as a “collection of odd meter earworms.” “Homer,” inspired by drum maestro Nate Smith, marks the first single (Release Date: August 1, 2025) and is the hardest-hitting tune on In The Garden. Alison’s performance is dialed in and hot.

“Sophie’s World” (Release Date: August 29, 2025) comes from the title of a book on philosophy by Jostein Gaarder. The contemplative vibe is set by Bernstein’s starry Wurlitzer and Kenney’s gently rotating bass line. The rhythmic changes are subtly blended into each other, imperceptible to all but the most careful listeners.

“Liberty Market” (Release Date: Friday, September 26, 2025) gets its name from a marketplace in Lahore, Pakistan that Shearer visited while on tour with Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East in 2022. Shearer captures the vibrancy, the children running around, the multitude of colors and sounds, through soprano saxophone and flute melodies that weave effortlessly in and out of a multi-metric setting. Like the whole album, this track was cut live to tape and you can feel it in its jubilation. “Skylark” is the sole standard on In the Garden; one of Alison’s favorite tunes. The 7/8 feel and piano ostinato makes this rendition her own.

The most straight-ahead track on the album is “But Not For Now.” Featuring Kevin Bernstein (piano) and Marty Kenney (acoustic bass), Shearer continues to surprise us with an interlude/outro written in a baroque style. The soulful title track “In The Garden”, ends with an alto solo that gives an exuberant Kenny Garrett like energy. Alison says, “The whole idea of being in the garden, is being ready to bloom.” “Treehouse,” an uptempo bembe tune, is the first flute tune she’s written for her quartet – Willie Colon fans will be happy with this one. “Treehouse” segues into the joyful “Remember When,” with soaring solos by Bernstein and Shearer, and a tight drum/sax duo moment between Phillips and Shearer.

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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