“The jazz biography of the year! Here’s a clear, fast-paced tracking of the rise of virtuoso drummer and bandleader William “Chick” Webb from the stoops of Baltimore to the summit of the jazz world as King of Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom.”
—Robert G. O'Meally, founder of the Center for Jazz Studies, Columbia University; author of Antagonistic Cooperation: Jazz, Collage, Fiction and the Shaping of African American Culture
“Crease's Rhythm Man is sweeping, probing cultural history not to be mistaken for mere biography. Missing nothing worth knowing, Crease explores the whole world around the drummer and bandleader Chick Webb—the world that made him and the world he remade.”
—David Hajdu, author of Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn and Love for Sale: Pop Music in America
“Fiction couldn’t have created a better hero than Chick Webb, and Crease is the writer to tell the tale… Deeply researched and lovingly told, she places Webb at the center of American popular culture of the Swing Era. A fascinating read.”
—Linda Dahl, author of Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams and Upside Down Sky
“The passion and love that Crease pours into this book will allow it to become the missing link to understanding the magnitude of Chick’s contribution to the world of jazz big band drumming and beyond.”
—Ulysses Owens Jr., Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer, educator, creative entrepreneur
“In addition to being a world-class researcher, Crease is an expert storyteller with the uncanny ability to make worlds come alive… This is a major work and exactly what Webb deserves.”
—Ricky Riccardi, author of Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong
“In this unique biography, Crease has taken the time and pulse of Chick Webb’s short but impactful life and made it swing. She is to biographers what Webb was to drummers—a shining light!”
—Loren Schoenberg, Senior Scholar/Founding Director, National Jazz Museum in Harlem