Newt @ The Lot, 7 Aug

Aberdonian guitarist Graham Stephen kicks off the evening in reflective mode, but soon enough he's heating up an already temperate room; he's got clean abstract John Abercrombie lines ranging to the full Sonny Sharrock fuzz-out, and his duels with burly polymath drummer Chris Wallace elevate this gig to the stratosphere. The other secret weapon is German saxophonist Silke Eberhard, whose high register flurries and sudden octave leaps will have you dashing back to your Eric Dolphy albums for impossible note for note comparisons.

Many of the compostions are by Wallace, showing a rare melodic sense as well as his evident propulsive skills. Trombone player Chris Greive is as ebullient in conversation with the audience as he is adept on his horn, and can more than keep pace with Eberhard's angular excursions. Stephen is probably first among equals and takes the lion's share of praise for tonight but they all shine. [David McNally]