By Shelley Koppel

Entertainment writer

Hometown News chief photographer Mitch Kloorfain introduced me to African drummer Brother Judah at the celebration of the life of Phil Kavanaugh, the long-time programming specialist for the Martin County Library System, who had brought so many talented people to perform at the libraries.

Brother Judah had moved to Stuart in 2000 from New York, and he credits Mr. Kavanaugh with giving him an opportunity.

"I went by the library," Brother Judah said. "I'm a New Yorker and I know that when you come to a new environment, you check out the library. I had three young children attending school and the library is the information source. I noticed that he was doing a show as "Mr. Funnybones" and I thought it would be good for the children. I wanted them to be around the arts. We went to see him and I was impressed; I'm always interested in how a solo artist connects with audiences. I don't know who was more amazed, the children or me. I went to speak to him and we spoke about multiculturalism.

"I told him I'd been performing for more than 30 years and asked about a performance reflecting the different genres of music I've done, including reggae, jazz, R&B, Latin and African drums. He said, 'let's go for it,' and we put it in at the Blake Library, with my children making their stage debut. There was a full house."

Today, Brother Judah holds a drum circle at Shepard Park in Stuart every Sunday; has worked with the Avenue D Boys' Choir, at Zora Fest and in churches in Fort Pierce; he has his own group, the Sanhofa Rhythm Ensemble; and works with at-risk youth and youthful and adult offenders. No one, he said, is beyond the message of music.

It wasn't an easy trip for the boy from Mt. Vernon, N.Y., who grew up in the same neighborhood that produced Denzel Washington.

"There were drummers on street corners," he said. "I learned to play drums on the Fourth Street Playground in Mt. Vernon, a famous summer basketball park. I learned to play in Central Park, at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. I was a young, teenage drum warrior. As soon as I heard it, it called me."

Brother Judah's family came down to Florida and for two years he kept his career as a mortgage broker in New York, commuting back and forth. He performed on weekends, getting off his corporate job and running into Manhattan to do shows and taking leaves to do tours outside the country.

"A musician knows never to quit his day job," he said.

He came down to Florida and got a job as a credit manager for a company in Stuart, but the decision to become a full-time musician was made for him by his daughter, who came home from school one day and told him her best friend couldn't play with her anymore because of her race. She wanted to know why.

"I said, 'okay, enough is enough. It's time to get involved," he said.

Brother Judah became the music teacher for Bridges Montessori School and got in touch with Martin County's Department of Parks and Recreation, where he began doing after-school programs. He began doing the same thing for the city of Stuart. Other Montessori schools asked him to perform and his reputation grew. Soon he was taking his World Drums & Percussion Workshop around the Treasure Coast.

"The drums are my props," he said. "It's the message. I take the children on an international journey, showing them how life is in different lands and how beautiful the human race is. Racism is not something you're born with. I tell the story of the beauty and joy of culture."

Brother Judah also uses the opportunity to teach some life lessons.

"I have their total attention," he said. "They see this arsenal of instruments and I try to captivate their minds. As they're listening, I get more serious about things like taking on bullies. The adults are listening too."

Giving up his day job has meant some sacrifices.

"This feels good and I'm going to stick with it," he said. "Some day I want to go from the Treasure Coast to Miami, with the hopes of one day having 5,000 drums on every seat in an auditorium. Drums are the heartbeat that brings out the best in everyone. Economics can be a problem, but I'm persevering. Sometimes you're up and sometimes you're down. I'm still on the ride."

Brother Judah leads a drum circle in Shepard Park in Stuart every Sunday from 5-9 p.m. Spectators and drummers are welcome.

He and his ensemble are available for public and private workshops and performances. He can be reached at (772) 979-3410.