Richard Sears is an American pianist and composer based in Paris. Sears has performed with the Billy Hart Quartet (ft. Mark Turner and Ben Street), the Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Alessi, Eric Revis, Andrew Cyrille, Joshua Redman and other jazz artists. 

In 2018, Sears was commissioned by The Shed (NYC) to create “Should I Lose You”, a concerto for improvised piano and electronic score, conceived in collaboration with composer and sound artist Ethan Braun. “Should I Lose You” premiered in 2019 for The Shed’s inaugural Open Call program. The performance included video by filmmaker Clara Cullen, and was staged by architect and designer, Yael Ginosaur. 

Sears’s 2016 release Altadena features the legendary drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath performing with his sextet. The album earned 4 stars in DownBeat Magazine, and was named “one of the best releases of 2016” by AllAboutJazz.com. Altadena was commissioned by the Los Angeles Jazz Society (2013), with additional support from the Aaron Copland Recording Fund (2015). 

In 2020, Sears released Disquiet, an album of composed vignettes and improvisations realized for the Una Corda, a piano-like instrument designed by David Klavins and Nils Frahm. Produced by Shahzad Ismaily, Disquiet is the only recording to feature a Una Corda in trio setting, performing improvised music. 

In 2021, Sears left Brooklyn to move to Paris, where he was a Composer in Residence at the Cité International des Arts. Currently, Sears is a grantee of the American Composers Forum, and current resident at the POUSH art center in Paris, France.

September 2023 will see the release of Appear to Fade, a collection of solo piano compositions and improvisations, realized with tape-looping. Appear to Fade was produced in collaboration with Ari Chersky for Figureight Records (Brooklyn).