(February 9th 1900 - December 20th 1957)

Walter Sylvester Page born in Gallatin, Missouri in 1900 was a prominent tuba and double bass player in Kansas City. After completing a three year music course in one, he went on to teach at University of Kansas at Lawrence. Between 1918 and 1923 Page frequently worked as a fill in with "Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra". In 1923 following a brief tour as part of "Billy King's Road Show", Walter Page formed his own band the "Blue Devils" based out of the Oklahoma City-Wichita area in 1925. Among the members of this assembly were Jimmy Rushing, Count Basie, Buster Smith, Lester Young, and 'Hot Lips' Page.