As a musical movement, Scottish jazz has been building since the preternaturally gifted 16-year-old saxophonist Tommy Smith strolled out of Edinburgh's housing schemes onto the world stage in the 80s. Thankfully, the snapshot offered at Jazz Now! was far removed from the creaky official Edinburgh Jazz Festival, embracing everything from the celtic bodhran to drum'n'bass.

At the end of last year, a band called AAB won the Radio 3 jazz album of 1999 with Cold Fusion. This was a bit of a shock, as they had never played London. While no one was looking, a groundswell of young Scots had become a serious enclave that now had its own Edinburgh-based label Caber Records, whose latest release, launched during Jazz Now!, is Nemesis from the Paul Harrison Trio. Pianist Harrison's urgent compositions jilted an unsuspecting Traverse audience and introduced an explosive new talent in drummer Paddy Flaherty, whose breakneck rhythmic invention drove the band to exultant heights.

AAB were a startling pointer to a new club-friendly jazz sound. The trio moved from the jumping staccato Repetitious Song to a Zeppelinesque trip-hammer epic, Kashmir, deconstructed into white noise and jagged saxophone permutations. In contrast, a new acoustic duo, guitarist Don Patterson and pianist Dave Milligan, wound hypnotic improvisational exchanges around stripped-down folk reels and cool laments.

Sporting kilts, John Rae's Celtic Feet moulded jazz breaks and the swirl of traditional dance into a playful if patchy banter between ceilidh and be-bop. The consistently brilliant pianist Brian Kellock, along with drummer Rae and the flowing Brazilian bassist Mario Caribe (now based in west Calder), locked the rhythms in place as Simon Thoumire span out intricate improvisations from, of all things, a tiny, buttoned concertina. A Scottish-Brazilian improvisation on a Jimmy Shand theme? Now I've heard everything.

***** Unmissable **** Recommended *** Enjoyable ** Mediocre * Terrible