An Interview with Stephanie Stein Crease

The author of the new Chick Webb biography "Rhythm Man" talks about the book's creation.

I’m still thumbing through Rhythm Man, Stephanie Stein Crease’s great new biography of master drummer/bandleader Chick Webb. (Here’s a link to my Substack from a few weeks ago, featuring an overview of the book and links to a few essential Webb recordings.)

The Roseland, the Savoy, the Cotton Club; Duke Ellington, Blanche and Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson; the stock market crash of 1929, Prohibition, two-sided 78 rpm singles— Crease successfully integrates these and other details into a cohesive, nuanced look at the life of Chick Webb, an avant-garde innovator who was also a consummate professional and popular entertainer.

Tonight, Monday, May 22nd, at 6 PM, Ms. Crease will be speaking with drummer Ulysses Owens Jr about Chick Webb and Rhythm Man at the New York Public Library For The Performing Arts. It’s a free event, click here to register¹.

I strongly encourage everyone to read this book, and, if possible, attend Ms. Crease’s and Mr. Owen’s talk tonight. The understanding they’ll share about Webb and his milieu is essentially priceless.

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Recently, Ms. Crease graciously agreed to answer a few questions about the creation of the book, and her understanding of Chick Webb, over email.

Here it is— thank you Ms. Crease!— exactly as she wrote it, with the only change being the YouTube links I made:

VS: You’ve written a wide range of books, including a biography of Gil Evans, a book about Duke Ellington for young readers, and a book offering guidance to parents who want their child to learn an instrument. What drew you to writing a biography of Chick Webb?

SSC: As a jazz historian, and curious reader and listener, I am often drawn to exploring the lives of musicians whose stories have not been told as comprehensively as others. There are several biographies of  Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, and  more on the way, including an important new biography of Fitzgerald by musicologist Judith Tick.