1931. The Reno Club, in downtown Kansas City, had a floor show, which included Page and vocalist Jimmy Rushing. Basie's band was just starting to build their reputation, but in the summer of 1936—on the eve of Basie's national success—and at the beckoning of Louis Armstrong's manager, Joe Glaser, Page decided to pursue a solo career. He moved to New York City in December 1936. Page's career as a bandleader had an auspicious start, with sold-out appearances and an extended run at Harlem's Smalls Paradise in the summer of 1937, but by 1939 he was struggling to maintain a regular working band. Nonetheless, he led several bands and combos of his own, particularly on New York's 52nd Street, where he appeared from 1938 or 1939, and in many venues in Harlem. Page toured extensively throughout the southern United States, and throughout the northeast and Canada at the head of as many as 13 different big bands during the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared briefly with Bud Freeman's Orchestra in 1938, and was a featured vocalist and hot soloist with Artie Shaw's Symphonic Swing Orchestra in 1941 and 1942, with whom he recorded over 40 sides. From 1929, he made over 200 recordings, most as a leader, for Bluebird, Vocalion, Decca and Harmony Records, among others. His band backed the singer Wynonie Harris on the session that produced the hit "Good Rocking Tonight", though Page was never credited as the leader. He was the leader of the house band at the Apollo Theater during the early 1940s. Page was known as "Mr. After Hours" to his many friends for his ability to take on challengers in late night jam sessions, and he was recorded at Harlem's Minton's Playhouse in 1941 playing in a proto-bebop style. He recorded for the Mezzrow-Bechet Septet (on two consecutive dates in 1945, as Pappa Snow White, with Mezz Mezzrow, Sidney Bechet, Jimmy Blythe, Jr., Danny Barker, Pops Foster, and Sid Catlett, and on the second session with Cousin Joe on vocals.) He recorded duets with Pearl Bailey on "The Hucklebuck" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" in 1949. He traveled to Europe in 1949 and appeared at Salle Pleyel in the first international jazz festival there, and returned to Europe at least twice for extended tours in the early 1950s. He was one of the most flexible of trumpeters, demonstrating a broad tone and a wide range