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Aengus Hackett

Acclaimed guitarist, composer and producer Aengus Hackett is one of Ireland’s leading jazz musicians. He has been burgeoning jazz in the West of Ireland for more than 15 years. Aengus has performed with the cream of Ireland’s jazz scene such as Mike Nielsen, Tommy Halferty, Conor Guilfoyle, Bill Blackmore, Izumi Kimura, Greg Felton, and Damian Evans. As well as this, Aengus has collaborated with RTÉ Contempo Quartet and leading Irish contemporary ensemble the Colm O’ Hara 10tet.

The Aengus Hackett Trio features some of Ireland’s leading exponents of improvised music, and the band’s debut album is due for release on 24th April 2024, with the support of the MISP Award.

A graduate of the prestigious Conservatory of Amsterdam, Aengus studied under world-renowned guitarist Jesse Van Ruller. Aengus has also studied jazz in the US, with the likes of guitarist Wayne Krantz, Curtis Fuller, Pat LaBarbera and Grammy-winner Bobby Shew.
A versatile musician, Aengus’ many creative projects span across genres as diverse as jazz, electronica, hip-hop, post-rock and folk.

In November 2020, Aengus released a series of compositions for guitar & electronics, entitled ‘Shimmer‘. Supported by the Arts Council, for these works Aengus explored improvisation as a compositional process. This series was remarkable enough to gain Aengus a further Music Bursary from the Arts Council, and he has continued these explorations in collaboration with leading Irish improvisers Mike Nielsen and Shane Latimer.

Another side of Aengus’ musical persona is that of Penji, his alias as an electronic music producer. In October 2023, he followed up his acclaimed debut EP of 2020 with his album ‘Future Nostalgia’.
“a flawless first release” – Headstuff
“With this EP, Penji has revealed a knack of merging the ecstatic with the downbeat.” – Journal of Music

Aengus released an album with experimental jazz / folk / rock trio DINOSAUR in 2017 and managed a national tour in 2014, which culminated in a performance at the National Concert Hall of Ireland. In 2016, Aengus released an album with experimental post-rock group Zinc.

A passionate educator, Aengus has over seventeen years experience as a guitar teacher.
He is also an experienced music facilitator with adults with intellectual disabilities.
In this area, Aengus has collaborated with fellow Zinc bandmate Andrew Madec on two projects supported by That’s Life, the award-winning disability arts programme:

In Flow is an exciting project combining Indonesian Gamelan, improvisation, electronics and visuals. For this, Aengus was awarded an Arts Participation Bursary Award from The Arts Council. This enabled him to explore and develop improvisation as a tool to make music on the gamelan with a group of adults with intellectual disabilities. This was subsequently developed into an audiovisual show at Galway Jazz Festival 2019 and a performance at Arts Council’s Place Matter conference.
In Flow’s debut album ‘New Arrival’ and a documentary about the project were released in May 2022.

Aengus Hackett Quartet Plays The Music of Cole Porter at Black Gate Cultural Centre

by James Fleming
May 29, 2019

Aengus Hackett Quartet Black Gate Cultural Centre The Music Of Cole Porter Galway, Ireland May 25, 2019 The quartet stood in a line: saxophonist/clarinetist, guitarist, double bassist, then drummer. Their music packed the Black Gate Cultural Centre's basement venue as candle flames danced shadows across its low walls. Matthew Berrill's clarinet had the melody—"Anything Goes" by Cole Porter, whose music they were celebrating for the night. He moved into the upper reaches of ...

" “The Ineffable” luxuriates in its sound of a bygone era – almost like Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius together in the 70’s...
The interaction between the three musicians is excellent, especially when freed up on the improv side of things. Solid writing and great performances all around...
They’re consummate performers though, proving they can handle anything, and I very much look forward to hearing what this trio takes on next."
UK Vibe (Mike Gates, Apr 2024)

Tunes make you stick around. Best track is the electronics shrouded 'Gerrymandering' that has firm bass developmental scene setting from Whyte reminiscent of the John Edwards manner in freeness situations and some detunery from Hackett that Mary Halvorson has done so much to bring the practice of which to the fore.

Marlbank (Stephen Graham, Mar 2024)

“Aengus Hackett is, quite simply, one of Ireland’s premier jazz guitarists”
Connacht Tribune (Cian O’Connell, Mar 2024)

” Guitarist/composer/teacher Aengus Hackett is fast becoming a pivotal figure of the
Irish jazz scene. “
JAZZIZ Magazine, USA (Matt Micucci, 2019)

“ Aengus Hackett proved himself an ingenious accompanist as he weaved his licks through the complex guitar chords. When he moved into his solo his octave-licks were sharp, clear, like a featherweight’s knuckles.
…Berrill and Hackett skated tenor sax and guitar licks atop their surface. They seemed to be darting at one another rather than weaving themselves about each other, like two snakes squaring up for a battle. It was tense, different music, that turned the familiarity of Porter’s songbook into an unexplored sonic lexicon. At their best this quartet was thrilling.
…There were flashes of fire. As on “I Love You,” where he (Hackett) closed his solo with a chord run up the neck that shone like a seam of platinum. “
All About Jazz (James Fleming, 2019)

“ The Salthouse gigs on the Saturday and Sunday of (Galway Jazz Festival) GJF ’16 were curated by guitarist Aengus Hackett, whose beautifully articulated solo on Miles Davis’ “All Blues” set the tone for the session. Ballads, blues, swing and Broadway hits from yesteryear—Cole Porter’s “Love for Sale” being a highlight—were played with an emotional nuance…“
All About Jazz (Ian Patterson, 2016)

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