Katana of Choice – Music for Drumset Soloist
Ben Reimer
Featuring Architek Percussion, David Cossin and TorQ Percussion Quartet

1-4. Drum Dances – John Psathas (arr. Ben Duinker) 11:00
Featuring Architek Percussion

5. Ringer* – Nicole Lizée  13:10

6. Lakoni in Kazonnde for Two Drumsets* – Lukas Ligeti  7:29
Featuring David Cossin

7. Train Set – Eliot Britton 7:01

8. Katana of Choice – Nicole Lizée  18:43
Featuring TorQ Percussion Quartet

Available on 180g vinyl and high quality digital download
* Ringer and Lakoni in Kazonnde available only in the digital download

Katana of Choice is available from:

For the past fifteen years, Ben Reimer has been exploring a new role for the drumset in the context of contemporary art music performance. The foundation of this journey has been a deep respect and admiration for the players who have opened new musical and technical possibilities of drumset performance for the past 100+ years. It is this history that remains linked to the instrument when crossing over into this context of contemporary composition.

The music on Katana of Choice – Music for Drumset Soloist, written or arranged for Ben, is a convergence of influences from icons of the past with new performance techniques and modes of musical expression. Through commissions, performances and this recording, Ben aims to stimulate new repertoire which further expands the history of the instrument. With this new repertoire and its resulting techniques and performance practices, he has found his way, like generations of drummers before him, to contribute to this rich history.

REVIEWS:
“Interesting and brilliantly groundbreaking, I could listen to this album for hours on end–I have in fact. A modern classic in my eyes, and a winner, too.”
Full Review in I Care If You Listen

“We are very proud of our association with Ben Reimer as a Yamaha Percussion artist. He is a very talented multi-percussionist with a clear desire to promote new music through drumset and percussion applications. This album showcases his ability to work with various shifting time and melodic themes, either solo or with other equally talented writers and musicians. Well done.” Yamaha Canada Music Ltd.

“A tour de force…Katana of Choice is an exhilarating musical ride…”
Full Review in Wholenote magazine

“Melodically percussive, excellent”
Greg Bear of “Alloy” on 88.3 WDCUFM, Dickinson College

“It truly is a stellar album of contemporary classical music. One of the reasons why I like it so much is that a (relatively) simple drumkit is not what you’d expect to see when looking for classical music. Yet here it is, and it is mind-blowing!” – Can This Even Be Called Music?

“Adventurous and stunning… traditional drumset techniques outstandingly connected with innovative and modern ways of playing”
Avant Scena

“Ben’s new release, Katana of Choice—Music for Drumset Soloist, demonstrates his impressive technically facility and musical sensitivity! His attention to detail, in both instrument tuning and the timbres chosen, greatly enhances his thoughtful interpretations.”  Dr. Nick Petrella, Director of Education, SABIAN

Drum Dances/Train Set
Recorded: May 23 & 24, 2016, Oscar Peterson Hall, Montréal
Recording engineer, editing: John Klepko
Mixing: Ray Dillard at Crush Studio (Barrie, Ontario)
Producers: John Klepko & Ben Reimer

Ringer
Recorded: May 18, 2012 at Studio A, Schulich School of Music (McGill University, Montréal, QC)
Engineer, editing, mixing: Scott Levine
Producers: Scott Levine and Nicole Lizée

Lakoni in Kazonnde for Two Drumsets
Recorded: May 6 – 11, 2016 at David Cossin’s home studio (NYC)
Recording engineer, editing: David Cossin
Mixing: Rob Friedman at Little Life Studios (NYC)
Producer: David Cossin

Katana of Choice
Recorded: July 18, 2016 at Canterbury Music Company (Toronto, ON)
Engineer: Jeremy Darby
Assistant Engineer, editing, mixing: Ray Dillard at Crush Studio (Barrie, ON)
Producers: Ray Dillard & Ben Reimer

Mastering: Graemme Brown at Zen Mastering (Gabriola Island, BC)
Art Direction and album design: Lucas Pauls

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.

TK456 © 2017 Redshift Music

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Ben Reimer

Winnipeg-born percussionist Ben Reimer became captivated by the drumset and the music that showcases this instrument at an early age. The sounds of drummers such as Neal Peart, Stewart Copland and Dave Grohl fuelled his musical pursuits.
Reimer first recorded with his indie rock band The Lanes (frequently landing on !earshot’s college radio charts in Canada) and artists such as soul singer Maiko Watson (formerly of the pop group Sugar Jones). With Western Canadian Music Award winners, Moses Mayes, Reimer played International Jazz Festivals across Canada and other festivals such as the 10K Lakes Fest in Detroit Lakes and the Evolve in Nova Scotia.

Shifting his focus towards classical percussion, Reimer received a BMus (’00) from McGill University in Montreal and MMus (’01) from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, under the direction of Raymond DesRoches. In 2014, Reimer completed a DMus. at McGill University. His main focus of research and performance demonstrated how the drumset, traditionally an improvised instrument, emerged as a solo instrument with prescribed notation. This topic is explored in his dissertation, “Defining the Role of Drumset in Contemporary Music Performance.”
Based in Montreal, Ben has established himself as a leading figure in contemporary drumset performance, commissioning solo works such as Ringer by Nicole Lizée, Full Grown by Scott Edward Godin, Train Set by Eliot Britton and the duet Lakoni in Kazonnde by Lukas Ligeti with David Cossin (Bang On A Can). He has arranged the solos Liberty by Tony Williams and Spooky Drums by Baby Dodds and was featured in the publication, Drummer’s Journal (4th ed. Aug 2013). As a drumset soloist Ben premiered four concertos by Nicole Lizée with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony – Edwin Outwater conducting, the SMCQ – Walter Boudreau conducting, Architek Percussion Quartet and TorQ Percussion Quartet. His album “Katana of Choice – Music for Drumset Soloist” will be available in 2017.

As a percussionist, Reimer has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Manitoba Theatre Centre and Thunder Bay Symphony. He has participated in the Scotia Festival of Music, Make Music New York, Bang On A Can Summer Music Festival at MassMoca and the Roots and Rhizomes Percussion Residency at the Banff Centre. He has been a guest soloist in the Bang On A Can Marathon, Brandon University “Pro Series”, the Winnipeg International New Music Festival, GroundSwell (Winnipeg), The Little Chamber Music Series That Could, Music on Main, PuSh Festival, (Vancouver), Innovations En Concert and live@CIRMMT (Montreal).

As an educator, Reimer has been Adjunct Professor at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University. He was the Coordinator of Percussion Studies at Brandon University from 2003-2009 while also teaching a range of performance, music education and music therapy courses at the University of Manitoba and the Canadian Mennonite University. Reimer has been a guest clinician at the Manitoba Band Association Summer Band Camp, Quebec Band Association Honour Band, the International Music Camp (International Peace Gardens), Prairie Percussion Camp, Winnipeg DrumTalk and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Reimer currently teaches private and group classes at École FACE in downtown Montreal.

Ben Reimer can be heard on recordings such as: “Bookburners” and “This Will Not Be Televised” – music by Nicole Lizée (Centredisc), “Pinnacles” – music by Diana McIntosh (Centredisc), “Inuksuit” – music by John Luther Adams (Cantaloupe Music) and “A Menacing Plume” – music by Rand Steiger (New World Records).
Reimer is a member of Architek Percussion in Montreal, Chow/Reimer Duo (with Vicky Chow, piano) and Want Slash Need (music by Geof Holbrook). He is a Sabian Cymbals, Yamaha Canada and Vic Firth artist.
www.benreimer.com    www.facebook.com/benreimer.drums   Twitter: @bnreimer