Does anyone know about a pianist named Joe Douglas?
There are so-called one-hit wonders, or people who release a single work and then suddenly disappear, not only in jazz but in any other field, but there is really no information on this British pianist Joe Douglas (his name is so ordinary that it is difficult to find in a search). He was recorded and released in 1979, and from the jacket photo, he was in his late 20s, which means he was probably born in the 1950s or thereabouts, so it would not be surprising if he is still alive. However, he must have retired from music early and took up a completely different profession, or died prematurely right after the release of the album.
The sidemen are Chris Lawrence on bass and Dave Barry on drums, a good lineup for the British jazz scene at that time, and it seems as if Douglas was a promising newcomer. Incidentally, Barry is still alive and well, and I asked him by e-mail if there was anything he remembered, but he did not reply. In addition, there is no YouTube video as well as music streaming platforms. This kind of thing is quite rare today. In the past, Japanese record companies used to release such things as Japanese CDs. It was a good time.
The tunes in "Visage" are all his own compositions, which are in line with his own lyrical piano style and full of the sadness characteristic of British music of this period, not limited to jazz music. I wonder why he disappeared, though he was a talented composer and not bad at the piano.