In this vignette about Ella Fitzgerald, we learn about her early career and the formative relationship she had with Chick Webb, who played the role of mentor and guardian, as well as bandleader. Using archival footage, new interviews, the words of those who knew her, as well as her own words, this clip gives you a glimpse into the early years of Ella’s career and the people who helped shape it.

NEW INTERVIEWS FEATURING:

• Norma Miller
• Frankie Manning
• Gertrude Jeanette
• Van Alexander
• Ella’s son, Ray Brown, Jr.

FEATURING STORIES ABOUT:

• Meeting Bardou Ali
• Ella’s Debut at Amateur Night at the Apollo
• Chick’s Wife, Sallye Webb
• How Chick Mentored Ella
• Ella’s brief romance with Louis Jordon, and More!

FEATURING THE VOICES OF:

• Bill Cosby as Chick Webb
• Tyne Daly as Jazz publicist Helen Oakley Dance
• Andy Garcia as Mario Bauzá

THE SAVOY KING is a feature documentary from Floating World Pictures about the Swing-era drummer-bandleader Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald, and Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom.

• Produced/Directed/Written by Jeff Kaufman
• Edited by Jamal El-Amin
• Graphics Wizard: Patrick Connelly
• Post-production Supervisor: Alita Renée Holly

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Patrick Connelly is responsible for the graphics and visualization in the film, The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music that Changed America.

Patrick is an animator and designer currently working in Los Angeles, California. He has worked in television and film production since 1998 in many roles, from production assistant to producer.

Most of his work has been in animation and motion graphic design, for which he’s worked on shows like Family Feud, Blind Date, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

In 2007, Patrick was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the main titles of Rachael Ray.

More recently, he’s turned his attention to documentary visualizations.

In addition to the Savoy King, Patrick has created animation for many other documentaries, including:

• Ancient Aliens
• Batman Unmasked
• Star Wars Tech, and several others.

To see a partial list of his credits, please visit the Internet Movie Database.

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Learn all about the Savoy Ballroom and how it sparked changes that shook America.

THE SAVOY KING:
Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America

Interviews include:

• Norma Miller
• Frankie Manning
• Gertrude Jeanette
• Van Alexander
• John Isaacs, and more!

THE SAVOY KING is a feature documentary from Floating World Pictures about the Swing-era drummer-bandleader Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald, and Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom.

• Produced/Directed/Written by Jeff Kaufman
• Edited by Jamal El-Amin
• Graphics Wizard: Patrick Connelly
• Post-production Supervisor: Alita Renée Holly

The best soundbite from this clip is from Norma Miller:

“The first place in the world that black & white walked though the door together…Savoy. They were joined by a simple thing called… SWING.”

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Jamal El-Amin is the editor of the film, The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music that Changed America. Although he has worked in the editorial field for the last 17 years, The Savoy King, is his first feature-length documentary.

Early in his career, El-Amin worked as an assistant editor, mainly in feature films. He has worked with such famed directors as Spike Lee and Woody Allen. To see a partial list of his credits, please visit the Internet Movie Database.

Over the last five years, he has worked as an editor in the documentary arena, including many different PBS broadcast shows, such as NOW on PBS and Bill Moyers: On Faith and Reason.

In addition, El-Amin served as an associate producer for Jonathan Demme’s television mini-series: Right to Return: New Home Movies from the Lower 9th Ward.

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Jeff Kaufman is the writer, director and producer of the film, The Savoy King, a feature documentary about Swing-era drummer-bandleader Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald, and Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom.  In The Savoy King, Kaufman weaves together newly filmed stories from remarkable people who knew Chick Webb at every phase of his life, with quotes from some of the greatest figures in Jazz history. It features Bill Cosby voicing the words of Chick Webb, Tyne Daly as Jazz publicist Helen Oakley Dance, Ron Perlman as Gene Krupa, Andy Garcia as Mario Bauzá, and Danny Glover as Count Basie.

In addition to this project, Kaufman has produced eight short films for Amnesty International, including a video for AI/USA’s new Maternal Mortality campaign, and a profile of former Mexican prisoner of conscience Gen. Jose Gallardo (featuring Edward James Olmos).

Kaufman also produced-directed the feature documentary Brush With Life: The Art of Being Edward Biberman. Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of The United States, wrote, “Brush With Life is fascinating . . . I was totally captivated by this film.”

In addition, he has produced, written, and/or directed programs for The Discovery Channel (including a special on the World Trade Center Recovery effort), The History Channel, The Learning Channel, and a documentary on the history of the series COPS. In addition, he produced a video on behalf of Iranian-American political prisoner Haleh Esfandiari (featuring Tyne Daly), the bio-film for the Howard Dean presidential campaign (with director Doug Liman), and a short pro bono film for the Lower 9th Ward Health Clinic in New Orleans.

Prior to his documentary work, Kaufman hosted-produced daily political/cultural talk radio programs in Los Angeles and Vermont; contributed cartoons to The New Yorker and illustrations to The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times; wrote and illustrated several children’s books; and exhibited paintings in a number of galleries.

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