Volume One

Darren Pickering Small Worlds

Apart from continuously composing new material, a lot of Darren Pickering’s compositions have been around for years in chart form, performed in concerts, or as demos. After performing one of the ‘Live at Alex’s’ YouTube episodes and being impressed by the audio quality, Darren determined that the time had come to document some of his tunes properly. He and the band decided to use Alex’s home recording studio for the recording, and over several ‘mini-sessions’ between October and December 2021, they recorded enough material for two albums. This is Volume One.

Darren Pickering (piano, modular, iPad)
Mitch Dwyer (guitar)
Pete Fleming (bass)
Mitch Thomas (drums)

All compositions by Darren Pickering except ‘Standing’ by Andrew McMillan & Darren Pickering
Produced by Darren Pickering Small Worlds
Recorded at Rapaki Studios, Christchurch (NZ)
Engineered and mixed by Alex Harmer
Mastered by Steve Garden
Cover art ‘In Pieces’ by Harry Harrison
Design by Unklefranc
Printing by Studio Q

Released: 21 July 2022
Catalogue: RAT-J-1051

Darren PICKERING

Darren is a jazz pianist, composer, educator, modular synthesist and session musician based in Christchurch (NZ). Apart from his ‘Darren Pickering Small Worlds’ quartet, he has also recorded a number of solo electronic ambient works, and performs with Bits of Beck, Swim Against the Tide, and Wulfie.

DARREN PICKERING SMALL WORLDS

This new jazz quartet from Ōtautahi (NZ) focuses on the original compositions of pianist Darren Pickering and re-imagined cover versions of selected works from other genres. The group’s emphasis is mostly on through-composed material combined with improvisation, and the artistic direction is determined equally by all members: Mitch Dwyer (guitar); Pete Fleming (bass) and Mitch Thomas (drums). There is a cinematic flavour to the ensemble’s sound, enhanced by the electronic textures of Darren’s ever-expanding Eurorack Modular system and selected iPad apps.