The Tree of Devotion

"I've started reading Jerry's book, and it's all the truth. Very soulfully expressed. I'll be recommending it to my students and may even read passages in class. It's in deep harmony with the spirit of Effortless Mastery."

— Kenny Werner
Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and composer
Author of Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within

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This is not a how-to book. It's a return. Drawn from decades of performing, teaching, and listening across cultures, The Tree of Devotion is a field guide for artists who long for more than technique. Jerry Leake—world percussionist, educator, and seeker—writes to the space behind the note, the breath beneath the phrase, and the stillness that shapes the sound. Structured like a tree—roots, rings, limbs—this is a book to revisit, not finish. Through poetic insight, personal story, and distilled teaching wisdom, each page invites you to listen with your whole being, create with honesty, and live in rhythm with the moment. Whether you're a musician, dancer, writer, teacher, or simply devoted to a creative path, these pages offer reminders you didn't know you'd been carrying. All Ways and Always.

Jerry Leake is a Professor of World Percussion at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. A performer, composer, and author, he leads the world-fusion group Cubist and co-founded Natraj and Club d'Elf, blending traditions from India, Africa, and the Americas. On tabla, he has performed with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Chitravina Ravikiran, and Kadri Gopalnath. A Berklee graduate, he studied with Gary Burton and Pablo Landrum, and later with master drummers in India and Ghana. The author of nine influential books on world percussion and a contributor to Percussive Notes, he also presented a TEDx talk, Harmonic Time, revealing his cross-cultural approach to rhythm and musical connection.