{"id":3709,"date":"2012-06-06T00:16:17","date_gmt":"2012-06-06T07:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=3709"},"modified":"2012-06-06T00:16:17","modified_gmt":"2012-06-06T07:16:17","slug":"chick-webb-the-savoy-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2012\/06\/chick-webb-the-savoy-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Chick Webb, The Savoy King"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before Chick Webb died in 1939 at the age of 30, he established himself as a model for jazz\"\"<\/a> drumming and his band as a gold standard of swing that humbled even Count Basie and Benny Goodman. In addition, Webb discovered Ella Fitzgerald. He became her mentor, guardian and protector as she developed from a street kid into a great singer. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t for Chick, we wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have had Ella,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d arranger and composer Van Alexander says in a new film bout Webb.<\/p>\n

Webb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s importance is firmly underlined in a documentary, The Savoy Ki<\/em>ng, making its world premiere this weekend at the Seattle International Film Festival. I screened an \"\"<\/a>advance of the film today. It is impressive for its research and production values; even more for its sensitivity in capturing the essence of the gutsy little man who transcended poverty and physical deformity to become one of the most admired musicians of the swing era. Seventy-three years following his death, Webb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s influence on drummers continues. His band\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recordings are still thrilling.<\/p>\n

Veteran director and producer Jeff Kaufman melds appearances by people who knew Webb, archive footage and photos from the 1930s, and music by Webb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s band and others. Van Alexander, trumpeter Joe Wilder, dancer Frankie Manning and drummers Roy Haynes and Louie\"\"<\/a> Bellson are among those who discuss Webb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impact on them and on jazz. Director Kaufman uses Bill Cosby to voice Webb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words, Kareem Abdul-Jabar to speak Dizzy Gillespie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, Janet Jackson as Ella Fitzgerald, Jeff Goldblum as Artie Shaw, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts as critic Stanley Dance and actors including Tyne Daley, Andy Garcia and Danny Glover as the voices of other figures in Webb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life and career. <\/p>\n

This promotional clip captures some of the flavor of Harlem in the period, and the Savoy Ballroom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crucial role in Webb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rise to fame and in breaking New York\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s segregation barrier. <\/p>\n

\n