Tom Leavey is a five-decade veteran of the music scene, from The Detours (with Denny Walley) in the mid-1960s, to Geronimo Black (featuring Jimmy Carl Black, Denny Walley and Bunk Gardner) to Jimmy Carl Black's band The Lo Boys to his current blues band, The Mannish Boys. Recorded with violinist Jenn Argenti, Tom Leavey's Illumination not only lifts your spirits, it's extremely enjoyable to listen to as well.

The following is what Tom Leavey wrote in the liner notes for this CD:

On August 14, 2007, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and my whole world changed as a result. You might say this was a negative. It turned out to be the beginning of the Illumination music that you are listening to right now. This has been my most positive musical experience in my 50 years of composing while playing drums, guitar, and bass. When I got the news from the doctors, I was surprised that I handled it with serenity and confidence that I would beat the cancer. I set up a regimen of 43 radiation treatments to combat the bad cells that were invading my body. Before I started the treatments, I met with healer and psychic Linda Becker. We had a 2-hour session that ended with her telling me that I would survive the cancer, but I had to have a clear vision of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

Without thinking about it, I said I wanted to get my music out to as many people as possible. I asked Linda if she knew anything about using music to heal, and she knew that it has been used down through the centuries with positive results. I started researching this and discovered that the body responds to different frequencies and that these translate to musical notes. This brought me to the fact that the key of D Sharp could be used for cell rejuvenation.

Before starting the radiation, I picked up my guitar and it was like my fingers were responding to another source other than myself. I composed a piece in D Sharp and played the song before, during and after each radiation treatment. This music is structured with simple repetitive melodies that can be remembered and played in your head without electronic equipment. During each radiation treatment, I played D Sharp during that five minutes in my mind. I pictured the bad cells being destroyed and the good cells being rejuvenated and felt a sense of well-being and that the cancer was losing the war. I have always known how powerful the mind is and felt that if I told my mind I was winning the battle, that the body would respond and be free of disease.

This music is in harmony with the universe and has all the power needed to give our body and mind complete balance, and to be harmonically in tune. Use it as it was intended and give back whatever gifts you have been given to make our world a better place.

Sincerely yours,

Tom Leavey

1. Sunrise (Life Energy)
2. Dee Sharp (Cell Rejuvenation)
3. Bloodlines (Circulation)
4. Illiana (Healthy Colon)
5. All Is Well (Good Health Maintenance)
6. Waterfall (Muscle Strength)
7. In The Wind (Physical Energy)
8. Angel (Grounding & Focus)
9. Cells Marching (Body & Weight Balance)
10. New Day (Anger Release)