[3] His earliest gigs were in circuses and minstrel shows while also backing such blues singers as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Ida Cox.

He played and toured with the Blue Devils until early 1931, when he joined the Bennie Moten Orchestra, the leading dance band of Kansas City.

[3] 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.

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.

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,[6] with Mezz Mezzrow, Sidney Bechet, Jimmy Blythe, Jr.,[6] Danny Barker, Pops Foster,[7] and Sid Catlett, and on the second session with Cousin Joe on vocals.