Hot Lips Page • In Session

Oran (Hot Lips) Page (1908-54) was one of the great trumpeters to emerge from Kansas City in the 1930s in addition to being a fine blues singer. Born in Texas, he began his career backing blues vocalists at circuses and minstrel shows. Page moved to Kansas City to join Walter Page’s Blue Devils in 1928, becoming a member of Bennie Moten’s orchestra in 1931. After Moten’s death, Page worked with Count Basie during 1935-36. He signed with manager Joe Glaser while Basie was still in Kansas City and decided to move to New York to start his solo career. A fixture at jam sessions and on 52nd Street, Hot Lips was with Artie Shaw’s big band during 1941-42 but otherwise was primarily heard with small combos. A swing player, he was quite versatile and sounded as comfortable in Dixieland settings with Eddie Condon as he did with r&b singers. Page passed away from cancer much too young when he was 46.

In Session (Jasmine) collects together 26 selections that mostly feature Page as a sideman. Unfortunately (and somewhat inexcusably), the exact recording dates and personnel are not given although one can do a little research and find both. Page is featured (briefly) on Billie Holiday’s “Long Gone Blues” in 1939 which has a nice soprano solo from Tab Smith, on three numbers with boogie-woogie pianist Pete Johnson (featuring a young Big Joe Turner), and with Albert Ammons’ Rhythm Kings on two hot jams from 1944. Two selections with Mezz Mezzrow and Sidney Bechet that feature blues singer Pleasant Joe precede Etta Jones being heard on a pair of numbers at the beginning of her career, sounding very close to Billie Holiday. My vote for the most spectacular recorded solo of Page’s career follows: his stirring playing with Pete Johnson on 1946’s “Page Mr. Trumpet.” It allows one to imagine Hot Lips defeating Roy Eldridge in an explosive trumpet battle.

While the first dozen numbers on In Session can be readily found elsewhere, the remaining 14 performances are rarer for they generally feature Page as a sideman on early r&b sessions. The trumpeter accompanies the jivey comedian Dusty Fletcher, Mabel Smith, Wynonie Harris, Marion Abernathy, and the saucy 14-year old Sylvia Vanterpool (on three numbers from Hot Lips’ own session with the trumpeter helping with the singing), has a vocal duet with Janie Mickers on “There Ain’t No Flies On Me,” and ends the collection with two numbers featuring Ollie Shepard in 1950. Most of these selections are blues, both jumping and lowdown with Page’s contributions (often utilizing a plunger mute) sometimes being relatively brief but always effective. The overlap between small-group riff-filled swing, early r&b (with some honking tenor-sax), and touches of Dixieland make the performances a consistent joy. One can certainly understand why Hot Lips Page was in great demand.

While not for completists (these are just the highlights from more extensive outings), In Session has more than its share of enjoyable moments and rollicking performances.

Hot Lips Page • In Session
Jasmine 3314
www.jasmine-records.co.uk

Scott Yanow

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.