It was an honor (and a wonderful learning experience) for Jeffery Woodruff to have been able to work, and create music, with so many talented musicians, artists, engineers, producers and overall good people. Special thanks to everyone who helped to make this album possible.

Ideally, Living Daylights will appeal to drummers, percussionists, and various other musicians. Hopefully this album will also appeal to non-musicians and "regular" people! One of the many aspirations of this album is to reach out to as many different people as possible...through the rhythmic and sonic qualities to be explored in this music. Have a good experience listening...

All tracks on this album, except for "Soussoni" and "Kpanlogo", are original compositions.

Living Daylights
A drum set solo, featuring a traditional array of instruments, including: tom toms, crash cymbals, splash cymbals, China cymbals, and percussion auxiliary instruments. The rhythmic and melodic ideas and motives displayed in this piece are influenced by several different styles of Rock, Afro-Latin, and Jazz music.
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Mister Transistor
A quirky piece that features ostinatos and unique instrumentation, this track features tambourine, doumbeck, 6'' and 8'' Thai gongs, and a West African rattle. The lead/solo instrument used in this track is a teapot, partially filled with water. Woodruff was able to play all of the instruments of this track, layering them with a production technique called multi-tracking.
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Until the Candles Burn
Solo for a West African metallic xylophone (called "gyil"). The hand-made instrument is comprised of metallic bars, hollow calabashes and a wooden frame. The gyil is played with rubber mallets. The melodic ideas featured in this solo were created by Woodruff, with the influence of West African gyil music.
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Ghost Dance - Part I
A thematic and simplistic piece, featuring textures and dynamics for a 7'' x 14'' snare drum, played with wire brushes.
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Green and Eagle
A rhythmic solo for snare drum, bass drum, and hi-hat. The main goal of this piece is to display brisk and articulate rhythms, blended with interesting dynamics and tambres. The music in this piece is inspired by Max Roach and Eugene Novotney.
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Day of Blue Fire
A duet for metallic gyil and ethnic percussion; integrating an interplay of rhythms with warm and dark tambres and bright attacks and tone qualities. This is a fun and interesting piece, featuring a student and one of his most influential teachers. Featuring:
Dr. Kay Stonefelt: China cymbal, Thai gongs, West African double bell, and Feng gong
Jeffery Woodruff: Metallic gyil
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Ghost Dance - Part II
A continuation of Part I, featuring a variation of the original theme. The instrumentation remains snare drum (with a coated drum head and lower-pitched tuning) and wire brushes.
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The Ballad of Nicholas Jump
Solo for Bodhran, an Irish frame drum, which is speculated to have migrated from North Africa. The Bodhran, played with a wooden mallet called a "tipper," is mostly indigenous of Celtic music. It can also be played in a Middle Eastern style. This solo is played with two hands in a variation of Middle Eastern styles (without the tipper). Finger rolls and single-hand rolls are utilized in this piece. The music in this solo is influenced by Alessandra Belloni and Peter Fagiola.
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Love and Electricity
This piece displays a solo for a "riq" (Middle Eastern frame drum with jingles) and tambourine. Auxiliary instruments include claves, triangle, and synthisizer. Played in odd-time signatures, this piece is a variation of Middle Eastern songs for riq.
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Woma Yielu
A solo for the "gyil" (wooden African xylophone). This is a creative piece, using original solo techniques and melodic ideas in the style of traditional African xylophone playing. Gyil music was taught to Jeffery Woodruff by Bernard Woma. Bernard is a well-known and respected master gyil player,drummer, and world traveler from Ghana, West Africa. Mr. Woma is of the "Dagara" tribe in Ghana. In the Dagara language, "Woma Yielu" is translated to "Song for Bernard Woma." This song is dedicated to Bernard Woma, with thanks and friendship from Jeffery Woodruff.
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Ghanain Interlude
A creative ensemble piece, featuring African drums in the style of West African (particularly Ghanain) rhythms.
Featuring:
Chris Jaquin: Ambient percussion
Jeffery Woodruff: Clay bongos
Roy Baumgardt, Jaquin and Woodruff: Wooden drum shells, metallic double bells and banana bells
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Soussoni
African drum ensemble rhythms for the recreational dance from Senegal. This piece features soloing on "Jembe" and a series of breaks and textures within the supporting drumming.
Featuring:
Chris Jaquin: Lead Jembe
Roy Baumgardt: Djuns and bell
Jeffery Woodruff: Jembe
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Open the Circle (Leaving the Plateau)
An original ensemble rhythm, inspired by West African drumming and gyil playing. This track was recorded in one take, as an ensemble...not multi-tracked.
Featuring:
Chris Jaquin: Conga
Roy Baumgardt: Djuns and bell
Jeffery Woodruff: Gyil
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Kpanlogo
This West African drumming song is a recreational dance of the "Ga" youth. This is a very popular song in Africa, featuring the "Mother Rhythm" (the Clave).
Featuring:
Chris Jaquin: Jembe and rattle
Roy Baumgardt: Kagan and Kpanlogo drum
Jeffery Woodruff: Double bell and Kpanlogo drum
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