The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America (2012)
90 min
Born poor in Baltimore, Chick Webb broke his back as a boy and faced life as a hunchback dwarf afflicted with Spinal Tuberculosis. Someone suggested drumming as physical therapy, and Webb found his calling: at only 16 he built the hottest jazz orchestra in America at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom, one of the rare places where Blacks and Whites could socialize together. The artists discovered and mentored by Webb are extraordinary, but perhaps no star shines brighter than that of Ella Fitzgerald. Features interviews with those who knew or played with Webb and period footage.
- Release date
- October 2, 2012
- Country of origin
- United States
Trailer
Cast
- Van Alexander as Self
- Bruce Barnes as Barney Bigard
- Rocky Carroll as Narrator
- Billy Crystal as Mezz Mezzrow
- Tyne Daly as Helen Oakley Dance
- Keith David as Charles Buchanan
- Andy Garcia as Mario Bauzá
Crew
- Louie Bellson · Archive footage
- Duke Ellington · Archive footage
- Ella Fitzgerald · Archive footage
- Jeff Kaufman · Director
- Jeff Kaufman · Writer
- Jeff Kaufman · Producer
- Marcia Ross · Producer
- Jamal El-Amin · Editor