Galway jazzman goes back to his musical roots

Aengus Hackett is, quite simply, one of Ireland’s premier jazz guitarists. The Galway native studied the genre extensively in Amsterdam and the US, and for over 15 years he has been a key figure on the Irish jazz scene.

In that time, Aengus has supplemented his first love with a series of exploratory, fusion projects. He established folk-rock outfit Dinosaur in the Netherlands and explored hypnotic post-rock with Irish three-piece Zinc. More recently, Aengus released an eponymous, four-track electronic EP under the moniker of Penji.

Now, he is fronting a debut album with the Aengus Hackett Trio, which features drummer Matthew Jacobson and Derek Whyte on bass. It marks a return to jazz for Aengus, though the tracklist on the LP is still layered with experimentation and improv.

This Easter Sunday, March 31, the Aengus Hackett Trio play An Taibhdhearc where they will be selling advanced copies of the album ahead of its full release on April 24.

“I was fortunate enough to get the grant going from the Department of Tourism, Culture and everything,” Aengus acknowledges.

“First Music Contact were administering it – it’s called MIST, the Music Industry Stimulus Package. I was lucky enough to apply for and get that so that was the impetus to actually make the album.

“All the music on the album is written by me. Some of it was kind of free improvised music. And it’s just a real privilege to be playing with such wonderful musicians in Matthew Jacobson and Derek Whyte. They’re just phenomenal musicians and I would’ve played with them over the years in various things so it’s nice to have my own project now that I can explore with them. They’re very creative people so it’s great.”

Pictured: Aenghus Hackett Trio...Easter Sunday gig at An Taibhdhearc.