The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America

The story

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 & crew

Rocky CarrollNarrator (voice)

Billy CrystalMezzy Mezzrow (voice)

Tyne DalyHelen Oakley Dance (voice)

Keith DavidCharles Buchanan (voice)

Duke EllingtonSelf (archive footage)

Ella FitzgeraldSelf (archive footage)

Andy GarciaMario Bauzá (voice)

Dizzy GillespieSelf (archive footage)

Danny GloverCount Basie (voice)

Jeff GoldblumArtie Shaw (voice)

Corey HawkinsChick Webb (voice)

Ron PerlmanGene Krupa (voice)