The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America (2012)
Overview
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.
Cast
Rocky Carroll
Narrator (voice)
Billy Crystal
Mezzy Mezzrow (voice)
Tyne Daly
Helen Oakley Dance (voice)
Keith David
Charles Buchanan (voice)
Duke Ellington
Self (archive footage)
Ella Fitzgerald
Self (archive footage)
Andy Garcia
Mario Bauzá (voice)
Dizzy Gillespie
Self (archive footage)
Danny Glover
Count Basie (voice)
Jeff Goldblum
Artie Shaw (voice)
Corey Hawkins
Chick Webb (voice)
Ron Perlman
Gene Krupa (voice)
Janet Jackson
Ella Fitzgerald (voice)
John Legend
Duke Ellington (voice)
Billy Porter
Dizzy Gillespie (voice)Recommendations
