In the Seventies, Frank Zappa said that jazz wasn't dead, it just smelled funny. In the Noughties, British jazz, at least, is powering out of the coffin with a vigour which takes no prisoners.

And the great thing is that the bands who make up this new scene are all so different. Examples Of Twelves, who played a cracking set at the Brunswick on Friday, could not be more of a contrast to the shock-and-awe Led Bib, the witty and sophisticated Polar Bear and the angry, punkish Acoustic Ladyland (who are all playing upcoming gigs at the pub; check out www.brunswickpub.co.uk.) Examples Of Twelves, led by bassist Riaan Vosloo, by and large leave the spikier edges to their compatriots and go for a more trance-like sound.

After an acoustic first set which declared Vosloo's leftfield inclinations with versions of Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra pieces, the Twelves (who were actually five) played an entrancing 40-minute suite The Way Things Are.

A tricky thing, the jazz suite. How do you balance improvation with the need for structure? The Twelves made things more difficult by weaving programmed electronics into the mix and then made it all seem quite seamless.

On a cold, windy night in Hove I was taken somewhere altogether more pleasant. A repeated soft and beautiful melody on the trumpet was the emotional heart of this music, giving it a poignancy which sets this band apart from the pack.

No, jazz isn't dead. It has some of the most interesting sounds around at the moment.