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.
Director: Jeff Kaufman
https://www.floatingworldpictures.com/our-films-the-savoy-king
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Rocky Carroll as Narrator (voice) |
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Billy Crystal as Mezzy Mezzrow (voice) |
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Tyne Daly as Helen Oakley Dance (voice) |
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Keith David as Charles Buchanan (voice) |
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Duke Ellington as Self (archive footage) |
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Ella Fitzgerald as Self (archive footage) |
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Andy Garcia as Mario Bauzá (voice) |
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Dizzy Gillespie as Self (archive footage) |
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Danny Glover as Count Basie (voice) |
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Jeff Goldblum as Artie Shaw (voice) |
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Corey Hawkins as Chick Webb (voice) |
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Ron Perlman as Gene Krupa (voice) |
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Janet Jackson as Ella Fitzgerald (voice) |
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John Legend as Duke Ellington (voice) |
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Billy Porter as Dizzy Gillespie (voice) |
| Directing | Jeff Kaufman | Director |
