Search - Chick Webb :: Standing Tall

Chick Webb, master of Swing

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 03/19/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Chick Webb is to this day considered one of the two most influential drummers of the Swing Era (the other being his predecessor, Jo Jones). Webb's musical career was brief, but memorable. He fronted his own band by age 17 and played aggressive drums in spite of severe physical handicaps. Additionally, Webb gave teenaged Ella Fitzgerald her start, in 1936. Her Webb-backed waxings of "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" and "Undecided" became big hits.



Webb also introduced the world to what would become a jazz standard, "Stomping At The Savoy," a song written by his alto sax man, Edgar Sampson. As his orchestra's fame grew, unfortunately Webb's health rapidly deteriorated. The majority of tracks on STANDING TALL are from a May 10, 1939 radio broadcast, and are the last recordings Chick Webb would make. Six weeks after these performances aired, he would die, a victim of tuberculosis-- Webb was only 30.



Audio quality of these dozen sides is a bit limited-- mostly midrange. Distortion's not too bad and surface imperfections are minimal. CD includes a three-page Webb bio.



TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 40:25"