I've finally started to cover Jazz with my drum teacher and I really have no interest in learning the modern fusion stuff. Too noodlie for me. I'm absolutely enamored with the big-band era though. The class, the swagger, the restrained and yet flashy chops and that giant bass drum.
Good for you for doing your research. People my age (40's) consider me a little off-beat when we begin to discuss drummers when I bring up the drummers from the 40's and prior, but, I can also discuss the drummers from those periods to today.
Heck, in addition to studying the extremely critical people as Webb and other similar era players, I'd invite you to go back even further. You'll discover that people like Dave Tough who was one of the baddest Swing drummers ever really began in the small group stuff before Big Band/Swing came into it's own. Heck, the small groups is where Krupa came from. For both of these drummers - dig back into stuff with Eddie Condon/Bix Biederbecke, etc.... I listen and love that music to this very day.
I was very fortunate to have been raised on the early jazz by my Dad who was also a drummer. His musical taste really was into the early New Orleans and Chicago style playing - actually before Big Band & Swing Bands.
I posted this link in the General Discussion group but be sure to listen to this for perspective on Webb and others...
http://www.pas.org/experience/oralhistory/mellewis.aspx Though I'd say check it all out, Part II covers Webb.
Also, I hear the Danny Gottlieb book covers some of the early historical drummers as well.
The recordings I have with Chick Webb have a couple songs with small drum breaks - no extended solos.