Chick Webb - "Bronzeville Stomp" - Jazz Archives Label ID. JA-33

Chick Webb - "Bronzeville Stomp" - Jazz Archives Label ID. JA-33 - Stomping at the Savoy (4CD)

Chick Webb and his Orchestra
 
Description from the Sleeve - 
 
When the drummers of the swing era are discussed among both musicians and collectors the name of Chick Webb is usually found at the top of the heap as the number one favorite. His style of driving a big band was second to none and his band was one of the more significant ones in the Harlem arena.

Life itself was Chick's biggest hardship. He came into the world a cripple and left it much too early some thirty years later. If being born a cripple is a handicap it wasn't so as far as Chick Webb was concerned. By age nine he was peddling papers in the Baltimore area to help toward the support of a very poor but family-conscious family. He was already following the parade bands around the city and he was saving up for his own set of drums. His first break as a leader came when Duke Ellington opened at the Kentucky Club and Duke found Chick an opening at the Black Bottom Club. This band (a quintet) boasted the talents of Bobby Stark trumpet; Johnny Hodges alto-sax; Don Kirkpatrick piano; and Chick's close friend John Trueheart on guitar. By 1928 the group had enlarged to eight pieces with the excellent Elmer Williams on tenor sax. While the Webb band did not read music it was consistent in cutting both the Fletcher Henderson and the King Oliver bands in one-night musical battles and soon it became the "house band" at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Musicians came and went in the late 1920's and such names as Hilton Jefferson Toby Hardwick Louis Bacon Shad Collins Benny Carter and Jimmy Harrison all of them played at one time or other in the Chick Webb band 1930 was the turning point for success for Chick and his band. After playing on the road with the Hot Chocolates revue he came back into the Savoy Ballroom for good. The reeds boasted Edgar Sampson on alto with Pete Clark as lead alto and clarinet. Elmer Williams was on tenor. The lead trumpet was Mario Bauza and the section filled out with Renald Jones and Taft Jordan. Sandy Williams was the trombone and he remained with the band well into 1940. Joe Steele piano; Elmer James bass and John Trueheart on guitar filled out the rhythm section.
 
ID. 100075 - Chick Webb - "Bronzeville Stomp" - Jazz Archives Label ID. JA-33