Modern Damberd opened on February 3nd 1978. None of the three
"founding members", the Swiss Guido Bass, the Dutchman Willem Zuidhof and Francis Jorissen, are still part of the direction. This triumvirate was responsible for Damberd's mythical times, all waltzed on a background tune of free jazz. Hip, anarchistic-libertinian, artistic, international, rebellish, burgundy joie de vivre, marginal and especially musical:
these words perfectly match the pubs sphere.

They transformed a dying respectable bourgeoisbusiness into a swinging jazzcafé in the shadow of the episcopal palace. Its reputation is quite ambivalent: famous and notorious, hated and loved, not only because of its explicit musical preference but also the result of its engagement in denouncing surfacing problems of a -too- fast evolving society such as migration and social adaptaion of political and social refugees, drug problems, street criminality, ….. It wasn't until the black Sunday in '94 (when extreme-right party Vlaams Blok had a stunning electorial victory) that government and mainstream public started appreciating our policy.
Hence we can rightfully reason that in The Damberd Café Ghent became
a metropolitan city. Improvisation, freedom and tolerance are the
bindings throughout its historical evolution.

In order to prove all this Damberd in October starts its 24th year and concertseason with the same mental independence as in the beginning…

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