Jazz Od Nowa Festival is a special event among festivals organized in Torun’s club Od Nowa. Its inauguration in 2001 was sort of a crowning achievement, the result of club’s activity in the field of jazz. Od Nowa has always been a jazz-friendly place – either in the primal location, Dwór Artusa in the Old Town or in the present one, in an academic part of the city, Bielany. What’s important, right after it appeared, the festival became a very significant one on a Polish map of such events. By the way, the map is far larger than one would suppose, hearing the complaints about crisis or even the end of jazz music. The festival is a two-day meeting with interesting, distinctly crystallized profile. Since the beginning, its organizers have been trying to combine native classic jazz with, let’s say, its experimental stream, not forgetting about local performers. From time to time they also invite foreign artists. The style formula spreads from acoustic mainstream, through free jazz, jazz rock to jazz-like music. Hence, the guests were such artists as Ptaszyn, Namysłowski, Stańko, Urbaniak, Nahorny, Muniak, Jagodziński or Śmietana and on the other side Miłość, Łoskot, Pink Freud, Robotobibok, Oleś brothers, Możdżer, Pierończyk, Tymański or even Hiram Bullock, a black guitarist playing Hendrix’ themes. There is also a place for more conservative young musicians (Soundcheck, Contemporary Noise Quintet, Sing Sing Penelope) and even for theatre-like events (Koncert Figur Niemożliwych – a performance of Andrzej Mitan with an excellent jazz-electronic group).

Previous editions of the festival have made it famous and prestigious. The result was bringing to Poland in 2007 a legendary pianist, Adam Makowicz, residing in America for a long time. He came only for the concert in Od Nowa. The concert bills of following festival editions give the sense of optimism for the future.