Biography
Oran Thaddeus Page, 27 January 1908, Dallas, Texas, USA, d. 5 November 1954, New York City, New York, USA. In the 20s Page played trumpet mostly in his home state but also toured in bands accompanying some of the best of the day’s blues singers, among them Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Ida Cox. Towards the end of the 20s Page joined Walter Page’s Blue Devils, a band formed in Oklahoma City out of the remnants of a touring band in which the trumpeter had worked. With the Blue Devils Page built a reputation as a powerful lead and solo trumpet, an emotional blues player and singer, and an inspirational sideman. In 1931 he was one of several Blue Devils enticed into Bennie Moten’s band, where he remained until Moten’s death in 1935. The following year he joined Count Basie in Kansas City where he was heard by Louis Armstrong’s manager, Joe Glaser, who signed him up. Glaser’s motives have been much speculated upon. At the time Armstrong was...
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