Articles by Philip Palmer

Return of The New Thing Triumph in Krakow

by Philip Palmer
July 25, 2007

Return of The New Thing Klub AlchemiaKrakow, Poland June 16, 2007

Last month, Krakow's Alchemia hosted a night of spontaneous improvisations by the Paris-based free- jazz unit, Return of The New Thing. The unique atmosphere of the club, which is located in Krakow's old Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, has been attracting the cream of the free jazz scene over the last few years. For enthusiasts of adventurous music it is a kind of Mecca, ...

The Cosmosamatics in Poland

by Philip Palmer
October 26, 2006

The Cosmosamatics Alchemia Krakow, Poland October 3, 2006In the mid-1960s, when Louisiana-born saxophonist, Sonny Simmons was probably at his most influential, a succession of important jazz musicians converged on a club in Krakow, Poland called the Helikon. Some of the younger musicians developed an ebullient, devil-may-care attitude and style that drew a great deal from the free jazz experiments taking place across the Atlantic. The communist authorities were not amused, especially when some ...