My Nineteenth Mid Life Crisis.

When I was younger (so much younger than today) I played drums. I haven't set my drum kit up for maybe fifteen years, though "drummer" is one of the many things which I think define me.

I have for several years been thinking of getting an electronic drum kit. Mostly because during the off season, I don't really get much exercise. Playing drums is a very good upper body workout.

Electronic because - well, it doesn't make any noise. Unless your have the headphones plugged in. So no problems with the neighbours.

(An aside. When I was fifteen, my parents were woken up at 3am by our neighbours, complaining about my drumming in the middle of the night. My mother, confused, checked my bedroom where I was fast asleep. I wasn't playing drums. It turned out that they had been woken by their daughter's hamster, playing on his running wheel. They never again complained about any noise I made - though I was still very careful about when I played drums.)

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got around to it. I bought a drum kit, a Yamaha 450, with an extra cymbal thrown in. This kit, plus another cymbal.

It took a little while to set up - and it isn't quite set up properly yet. But it is great fun, if a little frustrating when I can't quite remember how to do things I know I can do.

I have dug out my book of drum rudiments and I'm trying to teach myself to read drum music. (Not easy.)

But mostly I'm having fun hitting things. Sorry, I mean exercising.

Drum Kit.

When I was putting my new toy hi-tech percussion system together, Talisker sat on the bed, sleeping, and continued to sleep as I made my first beats to remember quite how playing drums feels.

But generally he has been very wary of the drum kit, sitting outside the room, waiting anxiously.

This is quite strange since he is usually particularly keen to find a way into the spare room where I keep the (drum) kit.

Phil Minton and Simon Fell. Edinburgh, February 2014.

Having moaned about the lack of improvised music in Edinburgh, along comes a gig that fits the bill completely: vocal improvisor Phil Minton and bassist Simon Fell, in duet and performing with a large local ensemble, EdImpro.

Both Minton and Fell have a long pedigree: I first saw Minton playing with Lol Coxhill in the late 1980s, and Fell is part of improvising trio Hession, Wilkinson and Fell. Together Minton and Feel created dune very interesting sounds. None of Minton's vocalisations sound like words: he uses his voice as an instrument, producing a huge range of sounds, some humorous, some chilling; some guttural, some sweet.

Fell's bass sometimes echoed Minton's vocalisation, sometimes roamed the strings, and sometimes even swung, a walking bassline appearing seemingly at random. Together they made a lot of interesting sounds, playing a single, thirty minute piece.

For the second set, Minton and Fell were joined by EdImpro, a large ensemble of reeds, percussion, guitar, violin, piano and a couple of guys on Macs. This time the electronic sounds were tuneful and added to the piece. There was some lovely playing - the two pianists working at a single piano made some lovely sounds, and the guitar and violin created texture.

There was a big sense of control; despite being a large group, there seemed to be little ensemble playing. Must of the musicians seemed not to be playing at any one time, perhaps necessary to avoid cacophony but then, for me, missing the main advantage of a larger ensemble.

I found the first, duet set more rewarding than the second ensemble piece. I wanted more of everything - more piano, more guitar, more sax.

Glen Vorlich, Loch Earn. February 2014.