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1750 - 1978 - 2003
The
first mention of the name ‘Damberd’ in the archives
of the city of Ghent dates from 1750. Before that, going all
the way back to the 14th century, there had been references
to an inn called ‘Die Scaec’, a former grain store,
though its location remains uncertain. But it is an established
fact that, ever since 1750, there has always been a café
called ‘Het Damberd/Le Damier’ in this very same
spot. That’s two and a half centuries. Indeed, a record
for Ghent. And for the last 25 years, it has been a jazz café.
That’s one tenth of its current lifespan. No mean feat,
considering we had to sail this wayward and independent spirit
through the stormy seas of the seventies, eighties and nineties.
MUSICIANS AND PUBLIC ALL NATIONS
On
3 February 1978, Het Damberd opened its doors in its current
form and became famous (and notorious) practically overnight.
The café, in the shadow cast by the bishop’s
palace, lay right in the middle of what was then the bastion
of the (catholic) bourgeoisie, the Korenmarkt.
Some were scandalised by our regulars: ‘long-haired
work-shy riffraff’, counter-culturists, hippies and
immigrants (the joke back then was that our place was always
‘black with people’), and called us a drug bar
that played freak music that set your teeth on edge…
curses which we then gladly took as compliments. Indeed, the
jazz (from the Louisiana French ‘jazzer’, which
means ‘messing about’) often applied more to the
public than to the performers on the turntable or on stage.
We certainly didn’t make things easy for ourselves,
programming concerts of Archie Shepp, Dollar Brand, John Tchicai,
Fred Van Hove, Ray Anderson, Lee Konitz, Ronald Shannon Jackson,
Chico Freeman (with Danny Richmond) and many others. There
was a sense of anarchy and controlled decadence and those
who witnessed these mythical times of the café will
certainly have some juicy anecdotes to tell. We would even
venture to say, with some pretension, that at Het Damberd,
Ghent became a metropolitan city. Despite all the opposition
(international problems always seemed to drift our way), the
café remained an open house, a hospitable place,
a makkom, honoured in many countries, close and far away.
HET
DAMBERD, WHERE GHENT BECAME A METROPOLITAN CITY
We
will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Het Damberd in
style,
but first, you can already get a foretaste of the events you
can expect on 1, 2 and 3 February 2003 with a series of 4
performances in October and November. That is fewer concerts
than we normally programme, because part of the budget will
go to the planned redecoration.
At the end of January, we’ll be closed for a short while.
But if, afterwards, we can still count on the silent and listening
attention of our dear public, we will be off again on a long
musical journey though the underground, the seedbed, the melting
pot of cultures, in search of the values of tomorrow. Twenty-five
years of independence, without subsidies or sponsoring, thanks
to your energy, as it were. Meanwhile, our motto is and remains:
HIPISTOSHUTUPWHENTHEMUSICIANSPLAY
Considering
the chaos of those first years, who would have thought that,
twenty-five years later, Het Damberd would still be in full
swing?
A dream come true… with a little help from you, friends,
but… that’s no jazz.
My
sincere thanks to you all,
On
behalf of Het Damberd,
Paul
Feyaerts
-> Damberd History
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