Quasimodo

The Story

This club operates in the basement of the Delphi Filmpalast, a dance hall and cinema built between 1927 and 1928 and closed in 1943 after war damage. The Quartier Quasimodo opened around 1967 in the same basement, initially functioning as a university bar with varied programming. In 1975, Italian Giorgio Carioti, a business student from Genoa who moved to Berlin for love, took over the business, shortened the name to Quasimodo, and transformed the space into one of Europe's most respected jazz clubs. Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker, Art Blakey, Pat Metheny, Chaka Khan, and Nigel Kennedy have graced its small stage over the decades. Prince threw a legendary party after a show, with a jam session that patrons still talk about decades later. Under new management since 2017, the club continues with its black walls and intimate atmosphere, hosting jazz, funk, blues, Latin, and rock, and was named venue of the year in 2019 by Initiative Musik. Still active.

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