Watch: East New York's Blue Angels Drumline Takes Fort Greene

EAST NEW YORK — The crowd of people who were drawn toward a Fort Greene playground one warm April Saturday all moved to the same beat. That beat belonged to the Blue Angel Drumline.

The band stopped between gigs in the Albert J. Parham playground on April 8, to practice their repertoire and enjoy the warm weather. The park’s neighbors were drawn in by the thumping of the drums, but none of them complained and several swayed. People perched on the monkey bars to watch the band.

It was a rare opportunity — the Blue Angels mostly play in local churches and private events, seldom in public and never in competitions. “We’re not about trophies,” said the Blue Angels drum major Samuel Toussaint, between sets. “We’re about reaching out to people.”

The Blue Angels Drumline is a group of about thirty young drummers and steppers from the Dunamis Church in East New York who play anywhere they can find space — local churches, public parks, and even at Wing Wagon, a hot wing spot on Flatbush Avenue.

Their mission is to play good music and provide the band members with an after-school activity that’s fun without being dangerous.

“Drumming kept me off the streets,” said Toussaint. “That’s the focus, that’s what keeps me pushing.”

Toussaint was chosen to be the next drum major position in 2013 by his godfather, who Toussaint said inspired him to pick up the drums.

“My godfather was one of those drummers who could play any drum,” said Toussaint, “And I wanted to be just like him.”

Since then, Toussaint has mastered the tenor, the snare, the base the quint, and even has an ear for composing. Toussaint writes all of Blue Angel’s music — a practice he said is rare — trying to create the Blue Angels signature sound.

“I try not beat the common beats,” Toussaint said. “When we go somewhere, everybody knows, ‘Okay, that’s Blue Angels.”

For more information about the Blue Angels or to request they play at your next party, check them out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Video shot by Kathleen Culliton and produced by Emma Jehle