Called “a force on the rise” by JazzTimes magazine, Alison Shearer’s explosive career hits refresh on what it means to be a jazz saxophonist today. Shearer is the kind of artist who is always asking “why.” She wants to find the similarities between seemingly disparate things, and in doing so hopefully find something human in everything. Shearer has performed across the United States, Europe, Canada, and South Asia, both with her quartet and as a member of Red Baraat and Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East. She has performed with notable artists such as Kurt Elling, Nate Smith, Charlie Hunter, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Kelly O’Hara, Jason Robert Brown, Josh Groban, and the wonderful Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She has appeared on both NPR’s Tiny Desk and KEXP with Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East.