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Acclaimed Galway guitarist and composer Aengus Hackett has established himself as one of Ireland’s leading jazz guitarists. He has played with the cream of Ireland’s jazz scene – Mike Nielsen, Tommy Halferty, Conor Guilfoyle, Izumi Kimura, Bill Blackmore, Greg Felton, and Damian Evans – as well as with the RTÉ Contempo Quartet and trombonist Colm O’Hara’s 10tet.

In his Aengus Hackett Trio he is joined by two of Dublin’s most in-demand players, drummer Matthew Jacobson and bassist Derek Whyte. The band’s released their acclaimed debut album was last Spring. It made number three in the Irish Times critics poll of best jazz albums of 2024.

A graduate of the prestigious Conservatory of Amsterdam, Aengus studied under world-renowned guitarist Jesse Van Ruller and in the US, with the likes of guitarist Wayne Krantz, Curtis Fuller, Pat LaBarbera and Grammy-winner Bobby Shew. A versatile musician, his projects also reach into electronica, hip-hop, post-rock and folk.  

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Pizza Jazz are a new four-piece comprising some of Dublin’s leading jazz players.

Expect the music of Sun-Ra, Charlie Mingus, Hermeto Pascoal and Ornette Coleman alongside traditional and modern standards from the quartet, who cut their teeth playing a lively residency at ‘Luckie’s on Meath Street in the city.

Fresh from releasing their debut album, ‘Home Delivery’ last September, the band pay their first visit to this year’s Bray Jazz Festival.

The band are led by bassist Sean Maynard Smith, and include Brendan Doherty (drums), Darragh O’Kelly (keyboards) and US-born but Irish based saxophonist, the prolific Steve Welsh.

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Zoé Basha is a musician, composer and carpenter, of French and American origins.

Based between Ireland and the traveling life for over a decade, Zoé blends traditional singing with jazz and blues. Her original pieces and traditional songs explore the crossover between the sway of Appalachian mountain songs, the fervour and solemn ornamentation of Irish traditional songs, and the pulse of American ragtime through playful, syncopated guitar and a booming voice reminiscent of some old jazz record you can’t quite put your finger on.

After growing up between the U.S. and France, traveling by thumb, freight trains, and taking the scenic route with rust-bucket vans, she played music in the streets for years.​

In a milieu blending feminism, radical politics, queer theory and traditional music, she made her home in Dublin.

In 2023, she was a featured singer at Féile Róise Rua, and a Music Network RESONATE Residency recipient.

She plays Bray Jazz Festival as part of a short tour, supporting the release of a new album.

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