Hot Club of Belgium


The Hot Club of Belgium was a Belgian club for jazz fans founded on April 1, 1939, by Willy De Cort, Albert Bettonville, Carlos de Radzitzky :fr:Carlos de Radzitzky|, and others. De Cort was an impresario; Bettonville was a music journalist; and de Radzitzky was a poet, journalist, and music critic. The club disbanded in the mid-1960s.

Selected activities

; Concerts, conferences, and film
The organization held concerts, often at the Théâtre royal des Galeries :fr:Théâtre royal des Galeries| and the Palais des Beaux-Arts. HCB also held conferences and monthly matinees film screenings related to jazz, and later rock and roll.
; Jazz competitions
The Hot Club of Belgium organized an international jazz competition. In 1947, Belgian jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Johnny Dover :de:Johnny Dover| formed his first jazz group to participate in the competition and won the award of best clarinet player that year.

Publications

The Hot Club of Belgium published two magazines:
Carlos de Radzitzky :fr:Carlos de Radzitzky| was editor-in-chief of Hot Club Magazine. Beginning November 1948, the publication was absorbed and appeared as a two-page insert in the Paris publication Jazz Hot until October 1956.