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A veteran of territory bands from the Southwest and Midwest, Hot Lips Page struck out on his own in the latter half of the ’30s to lead a big band. His experience with Bennie Moten and Count Basie’s groups may not have translated into similarly stellar material and arrangements, but the rough-hewn yet fluid swing those outfits adhered to certainly found its way into his repertoire. This Classics disc finds Page during those early days from 1938-1940, and includes cuts both by his group and smaller combos featuring Kansas alto legend Buster Smith, pianist Pete Johnson, and tenor saxophonist Don Byas. There’s plenty of Page’s masterful blues and jazz singing (“Old Man Ben”), along with a fine array of his heated trumpet solos. A fine selection from one of the unwitting godfathers of jump blues and early R&B (Stephen Cook/AllMusic).

Track listing:
00:00 1 Good Old Bosom Bread
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Finney
02:49 2 He’s Pulling His Whiskers
Written-By – Page
05:39 3 Down On The Levee (Levee Lullaby)
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Page
08:35 4 Old Man Ben
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Page
11:38 5 Jumpin’
Written-By – Waters, Page
14:25 6 Feelin’ High And Happy
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Bloom, Koehler
16:41 7 At Your Beck And Call
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Ram*, DeLange
19:22 8 Rock It For Me
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Werner, Werner
22:15 9 Skull Duggery
Written-By – White, Page
24:40 10 I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
Written-By – Ellington, Nemo, Mills
27:06 11 If I Were You
Vocals – Delores Payne
Written-By – Bernier, Emmerich
29:38 12 (A Sky Of Blue, With You) And So Forth
Vocals – Delores Payne
Written-By – Johnson, Davis
32:10 13 The Pied Piper
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Arnold, Gould
34:41 14 Small Fry
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Loesser, Carmichael
37:13 15 I’m Gonna Lock My Heart And Throw Away The Key
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Eaton, Shand
39:20 16 Will You Remember Tonight Tomorrow?
Vocals – Ben Bowers
Written-By – Friend, Franklin
41:55 17 I Would Do Anything For You
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Hill, Hopkins, Williams
44:47 18 I Ain’t Got Nobody
Vocals – The Harlem Highlanders
Written-By – Graham, Williams
48:01 19 A Porter’s Love Song To A Chambermaid
Vocals – Romayne Jackson
Written-By – Razaf, Johnson
50:47 20 Gone With The Gin
Written-By – Page
54:05 21 Walk It To Me
Written-By – Page
57:22 22 I Won’t Be Here Long
Vocals – Hot Lips Page
Written-By – Smith, Page
01:00:09 23 Lafayette
Written-By – Basie, Durham
01:03:00 24 South
Written-By – Moten, Hayes
01:05:56 25 Harlem Rhumbain’ The Blues
Written-By – Unknown Artist
01:08:50 26 No Matter Where You Are (When Evening Draws Her Curtain)
Vocals – Bea Morton
Written-By – Morton

Personnel:

Alto Saxophone – Don Stovall (tracks: 23 to 26), Jimmy Powell (tracks: 17 to 22), Ulysses Scott (tracks: 5 to 10)
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Ben Williams (tracks: 11 to 16)
Bass – Abe Bolar (tracks: 5 to 26), Wellman Braud (tracks: 1 to 4)
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Ben Smith (9) (tracks: 1 to 16), Buster Smith (tracks: 17 to 22), Eddie Barefield (tracks: 23 to 26)
Directed By – Hot Lips Page (tracks: 5 to 16)
Drums – A. G. Godley (tracks: 23 to 26), Alfred Taylor(tracks: 1 to 16), Ed McConney* (tracks: 17 to 22)
Guitar – Connie Wainwright (tracks: 1 to 16), John Collins (2) (tracks: 23 to 26)
Liner Notes – Anatol Schenker
Piano – Jimmy Reynolds (tracks: 1 to 22), Pete Johnson (tracks: 23 to 26)
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Waters (tracks: 5 to 16), Don Byas (tracks: 23 to 26), Ernie Powell (tracks: 5 to 16), Sam Simmons (tracks: 1 to 4), Sam Davis* (tracks: 17 to 22)
Trombone – George Stevenson (tracks: 5 to 16), Harry White (tracks: 5 to 16)
Trumpet – Bobby Moore (3) (tracks: 5 to 16), Dave Page (tracks: 11 to 16), Eddie Mullens* (tracks: 5 to 10), Hot Lips Page

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Label: Classics – CLASSICS 561
Series: The Classics Chronological Series – 561
Country: France
Released: 1991