The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America (2012)

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 (15)CrewGenresDetailsReleasesMediaAwards

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)

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