Jim Douglas

Scottish guitarist and banjoist Jim Douglas, one of the most respected figures in British traditional jazz, died in early October 2025 while living in the Philippines with his son, Will Douglas. He was 82.

Born Robert James Elliot Douglas on May 13, 1942, in Gifford, East Lothian, he began his musical life as a drummer before switching to guitar and banjo in his teens. After early work in Edinburgh jazz clubs, and a minor hit with the Clyde Valley Stompers playing “Peter and the Wolf”, he joined trumpeter Alex Welsh’s Band in 1962, beginning a 19-year tenure that defined his career. With Welsh he toured Britain, Europe, and the United States, accompanying visiting American stars including Earl Hines, Wild Bill Davison, Bud Freeman, and Ruby Braff, and appearing on dozens of recordings that bridged mainstream swing and traditional jazz.

Following Welsh’s death in 1982, Douglas became a fixture with Val Wiseman’s “Lady Sings the Blues” show, Digby Fairweather’s Superkings, and The Great British Jazz Band, while freelancing widely across the UK festival circuit. His crisp rhythm, sly humor, and deep feel for swing made him a first-call accompanist and a cherished colleague.

In later years he turned author, publishing Tunes, Tours and Travel-itis: Eighteen Years with the Alex Welsh Band (2013), an affectionate chronicle of life on the road, and then a prequel, Teenage to Travel-itis: Coming up in a World of Jazz (2016). His final recording session was the 2018 album Swing That Music with Ben Holder, Keith Donald, and John Petters, a quartet first assembled for a 2014 festival appearance.

Douglas moved to Cebu, Philippines, during the COVID pandemic to be near his family, where he welcomed two grandchildren and continued playing informally.