20 Years Hot Club Gent
On 6 May 2005, David De Rudder and Waso De Cauter opened a small jazz pub in the heart of Ghent. The Ghent Hot Club was born. It quickly became a key venue on Ghent's jazz scene, thanks in no small part to Waso's insistence on absolute silence during concerts.
Hundreds of concerts and jam sessions followed. Of course, gypsy swing had pride of place, but all forms of jazz were welcomed: from the most traditional to the avant-garde, from rigorous improvisation to total freedom. Jazz in all its diversity, colour and daring.
In 2015, David's sudden death came as a shock. The Hot Club had to close its doors. But Waso and Peter Kinna (then manager) quickly decided not to let the project die. A new company was created and the adventure began again. The same address, almost the same recipe, and a new name: Hot Club Gent.
Ten years have gone by since then, with even more live music than before: five concerts a week from September to May, and up to two a day during the Ghent Festivals. Even the pandemic hasn't dented the love of jazz - it's just had to go without a stage for a while.
In twenty years, over 3,400 concerts have been held, many of them opening with jam sessions. While the quality of the concerts - constant despite the small size of the venue and the absence of subsidies - is widely acclaimed, the improvisation sessions are perhaps the real soul of the Hot Club. They allow everyone to take their first steps, to fail, to dare, to progress. Musical and human bonds are forged. It's where jazz becomes a living, adventurous, collective experience. It's also where many groups have been formed.
And every week, you can immerse yourself in experimentation, free jazz, the avant-garde... For 19 years, Bart Maris has hosted his legendary ‘Mercredis Libres’.
The Hot Club Gent is also a warm, slightly chaotic café, where age, gender, colour and conviction are replaced by simple, sincere respect.
Over 3,500 free concerts have been organised since its inception. Free concerts are at the heart of the Festival's identity: they make jazz accessible to everyone, including those who wouldn't necessarily dare push open the door of a concert hall.
To celebrate these 20 years of lively music and openness, Hot Club Gent, in collaboration with Cultuur Gent, Ha Concerts and Zephyrus, invites you to a free party on 6 May 2025 from 9pm at Ha Concerts (Kouter 29, Ghent).
A huge jam session - punctuated by mini-concerts - will be orchestrated by Bart Maris and Waso De Cauter. All styles and colours of jazz will be represented.
And weather permitting, a festive parade will set off from Hot Club Gent (Groentemarkt) at 8pm to join Ha Concerts to the rhythm of the music.