Alan Douglas (record producer)

Alan Douglas was an American record producer[1] who has worked with Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Lenny Bruce and the Last Poets. He runs his own record label, Douglas Records

Alan Douglas’ reputation will be forever linked with that of Hendrix, and yet his career path has also encompassed jazz, rock, soul and symphonic music, as well as comic book art, poetry, film and revolutionary literature. He’s been possessed of the same astute, cultural radar all of his professional life, whether encouraging the likes of Hendrix and Duke Ellington to explore new directions; promoting controversial figures such as Lenny Bruce and Timothy Leary, or recognising the relevance of a group of inflammatory street poets from Harlem called the Last Poets, who would later be credited with inventing hip-hop.

For twenty years, Alan was responsible for initiating and producing all of the music, films and promotional material relating to the Hendrix Estate. He’d assumed control in 1974, at a time when Jimi’s memory was coming under threat from the onset of punk and increasingly poor album releases — the last of which bore the title “Loose Ends.” It felt like the end of the road for a rock legend Douglas describes as “one of the 20th Century’s greatest-ever musicians and composers.” In 1962, Alan took charge of the United Artists Jazz division. One of his first projects was Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’s Three Blind Mice, recorded live at the Renaissance Club in Hollywood. He also coaxed trumpeter Kenny Dorham in the studio for Matador; a soul-jazz classic shared with Jackie McLean and Bobby Timmons. Alan’s qualities as a producer were already evident. He would encourage musicians to express themselves and push the boundaries, like when he teamed Duke Ellington with Max Roach and Charles Mingus for Money Jungle, which George Wein has described as “one of the greatest piano trio recordings in jazz history.”

Alan had met Hendrix shortly after his headlining performance at Woodstock. Whilst celebrated as a rock icon, Hendrix was chafing at the commercial demands made upon him and longed to explore new avenues. He’d recently formed Band Of Gypsys, who played a heady mix of rock and rhythm and blues, topped by Jimi’s soul-baring improvisations. It was Alan Douglas who introduced him to jazz masters such as Davis, Quincy Jones and Gil Evans, and also facilitated jam sessions with the likes of John McLaughlin and Larry Young, who Alan says was one of the few musicians that wasn’t intimidated by Hendrix’s ability. Douglas would produce other memorable releases during his short tenure with UA — most notably with Oliver Nelson, Ken McIntyre, King Pleasure, Herbie Mann, Betty Carter and Bill Evans & Jim Hall, whose Undercurrent was the first of their celebrated collaborations. Highlights from these albums can be found on Douglas On Blue Note, issued in 2009.

Alan Douglas passed away peacefully at his home in Paris, France on June 7, 2014 leaving for the world, an eclectic catalogue of films, music and books encompassing jazz, funk, avant-garde, hip-hop, blues, Latin and rock. It’s a body of work where musicians like Hendrix, Dizzy Gillespie, Parliament, Little Richard, Celia Cruz and John Lennon rub shoulders with a host of other major figures, both literary and artistic.