Hayley Kavanagh

“Her sound is big and warm; her language firmly rooted in the swinging hard-bop and post- bop traditions of Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.” – All About Jazz

“a key figure in the capital’s jazz scene” – Journal of Music

Hayley Kavanagh is an Irish saxophonist, flautist who has made a name for herself on the Dublin scene in recent years both as an active band leader, as well as an in-demand collaborator and sideman. Her music is punchy, bluesy and angular with “pithy hooks over catchy basslines” (Journal of Music). Deeply rooted in tradition, but with a distinct personality, it has “an uncanny quality of sounding both familiar and new at the same time” (Journal of Music). She has performed with her own projects at some of Ireland’s most notable jazz events and venues, including the International Bray Jazz Festival, Scott’s Jazz Club, The Cooler, and Arthur’s Blues & Jazz Club.

Hayley started playing classical flute at the age of seven but didn’t pick up the saxophone until much later. Black American music had always resonated deeply with her – jazz, gospel, blues – but it was only after spending several years on the vibrant music scenes in Prague and Berlin, that she began to play improvised music. Hayley found her feet playing at jam sessions, busking, and taking any gig she could get. She learnt to improvise predominantly on the bandstand before returning to Ireland to pursue a degree in jazz performance at DCU.

Hayley is now based in Dublin where she performs regularly with her own projects, as well as with the RTE Concert Orchestra, the Genuine Jazz Orchestra, in So-Young Yoon’s Master Album Series, and various other ensembles. She plays every Thursday with Red
Line Jazz in the Circular in Rialto, every Sunday with Cormac Kenevey’s band at Searsons of Baggot street, and every second Monday at the Arthur’s Jazz Jam which she co-hosts with Eric Doyle. She has performed alongside many of Ireland’s foremost improvising musicians, including Dave Redmond, Kevin Brady, Scott Flanigan, Cathal Roche, Brendan Doyle, Chris Guilfoyle, Aleka Potinga, among others.

Outside of performance, Hayley does everything she can to help foster a vibrant and sustainable scene in Dublin. She is the co-founder of the jazz event guide Cookin’ Dublin, co-producer of the Jazz Ireland video interview series ‘In the Groove’, sits on the board of the Dublin Jazz Co-op and works closely with the Bray Jazz Festival.