Pete Fleming

Darren Pickering Small Worlds: Three

by Anastasia Bogomolets
July 27, 2025

Darren Pickering Small Worlds' release, Three, continues the quartet's ongoing exploration of jazz fused with cinematic flavour and electronic possibilities. The group, led by pianist and composer Darren Pickering, offers a set of emotionally nuanced compositions, some anchored in jazz language, others bringing in filmic atmosphere. Electronic tools--an array of modular systems, synths and apps--play an active role in shaping the sound. Rather than being added after the fact, they function as part of the compositional language. Pickering ...