Days of Gypsy Nights is the debut recording by pianist/composer Doug Wyatt. Or is it? Doug released Accidental Beauties in 1998 and The Dream of "I" in 2006, but then there was a long gap between albums while he was working as a software engineer. A personal crisis during the 2020 Covid pandemic caused Doug to return his focus to creating music after a break of almost fifteen years. So, with that long of a hiatus, I think we can safely say that this is the second debut album by Doug Wyatt! Lucky us!

If you need to put music into a specific genre, you could call Days of Gypsy Nights jazz or jazz fusion, but along with the freedom of improvisation, there is a a structure that is more classical in form, making it difficult to put the album into one specific genre - something I always really appreciate! Doug composed all nine of the tracks on the album and plays both piano and synthesizer. There is quite a list of other artists on the album that includes Michael Rosen on tenor and soprano saxes (5 tracks), Marcello Pellitteri on drums (3 tracks), Tim Reppert on electric and double basses (3 tracks) and Little Big Sound Strings (7 tracks). Other instruments include marimba, percussion, and string quartet. It's an impressive mix, and it's interesting to note that Doug and four of the other musicians on the album started playing together in high school in Ithaca, NY.

Days of Gypsy Nights opens with "Iroquois," a piece that begins with Doug Wyatt creating a rhythmic groove on piano while Michael Rosen sets a smooth melody on sax. As the piece progresses, it becomes a livelier interaction between sax, piano, bass, drums/percussion and strings - a great start! "As I Am, As I Dream to Be" is a quieter blend of piano, sax, drums, bass and strings - very graceful and heartfelt. "Afraid to Love" seems to come from a very personal place and is primarily a duet for piano and sax with bass, drums and strings supporting them - my favorite track on the album! (There is also a great video of this piece being performed that I recommend.) "Katy's Spring" is very different from the first three tracks and features Doug on piano and Little Big Sound Strings (violins, viola and cello). Much more classical than jazz, the piece has an infectious swirling motion that is bright and uplifting. The title track features New Zealand String Quartet, as well as piano, synth, sax, marimba, drums and bass. This one is impossible to put into one musical box, and I love the energy it exudes - another favorite! At almost eleven minutes, "Mythaka" is by far the longest track on the album and features sax, piano, bass and percussion. Soulful and a little bit mysterious, I really like this one, too! "Return to the Sea Beyond" features Doug and Little Big Sound Strings. It begins with a soulful piano intro before the strings enter - much more classical than jazz, and what a beautiful way to end the album!

Well, I'm impressed! Days of Gypsy Nights will be released on April 18, 2025. It is available to pre-order now on Bandcamp. More links will be added as they become available. Both thumbs up for this one!