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Bill Page playing Saxophobia on Bari, Alto, and Sop

21K views 60 replies 15 participants last post by  MyronC  
#1 ·

I love his tone, and I've looked him up, but all I can gather is that he was an endorsing artist for Conn. Does anyone have any other information about him?
 
#44 ·
Yeah it is a killer tone and my dad attributes it to studing with Merle Johnson from New York. Merle was considered at that time as the finest teachers in the country. a massive list of great sax players studied with Merle. I also had the pleasure to study with Melre in his later years when he was here in LA. when I studied with him he was blind had one leg but new every note on every page of every book he used to teach with. It was an increditable experience. He had an Altec PA cranked up with the metronome blaring and if I started to rush he would say" there you go, trying to show off for the girls again" Ha ha!! he actually said it more rude but I don't want to affend anyone..Ha Ha
 
#5 ·
Bill is a friend of mine, actually he is my friend's father. He played on the Welk show for years and later pioneered the electric sax. Bill played all the woodwinds, (as you probably know from seeing that famous photo of him with all the Conns) including bassoon and English horn. He was still playing gigs a few years ago. I got my first berg mpc from Bill and still have it.

His son is Scott Page who played with Pink Floyd.
 
#8 ·
Bill is a friend of mine, actually he is my friend's father. He played on the Welk show for years and later pioneered the electric sax. Bill played all the woodwinds, (as you probably know from seeing that famous photo of him with all the Conns) including bassoon and English horn. He was still playing gigs a few years ago. I got my first berg mpc from Bill and still have it.

His son is Scott Page who played with Pink Floyd.
Soy, how old is Bill Page? Junkdude has one of his album covers on his home page; I've wondered who he is/was.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for checking in here, Tanyap. I'm curious if Lawrence Welk ever responded to your father's electronica stuff that he did in the 60s. I can imagine it wasn't Welk's cup of tea at all and I wonder if he ever had anything to say about it.

I have to express my admiration for your father's ability to master so many woodwind instruments. I find that a few members of the saxophone family is more than enough of a challenge for me.
 
#22 ·
Hey Chitown...I don't know the answer to your question about Welk. I'm going to see if dad can come over on Sunday and I can type up some of his own answers to your questions. He was so funny yesterday when I was telling him about all of this. "What the heck are they talking about me for?, I'm on the internet? Huh? I don't get it" I just replied with they like you dad! It'd be great if he'll talk about Vox and the wah wah pedal stuff. Those were great times in history.
 
#21 ·
Hey Tanya! Great to see you here. Your dad was so helpful when i was learning to play the sax. I've always appreciated his generosity and talent. As i recall, your brother had some old 16 millimeter movie films of Bill, too.

(also sent you a private message.)
 
#23 ·
Hey Tanya! Great to see you here. Your dad was so helpful when i was learning to play the sax. I've always appreciated his generosity and talent. As i recall, your brother had some old 16 millimeter movie films of Bill, too.

(also sent you a private message.)
This is great dad was so funny yesterday when I was telling him about this! Got your pm and sent you an email.

Take care hope to see you soon and not have to wait for NAMM...
 
#25 ·
My only exposure to wah-wah on the saxophone is on The New Phil Woods Quartet LP on Testament from 1973. That's still my favorite Phil Woods album. I wonder how many others here have even heard it. It's also got the funniest liner notes I've ever read, courtesy of Phil. He talks about the band playing a gig, and describes Leonard Feather walking into the club. He says something to the effect that Leonard took one look at Phil's wah-wah pedal and Phil could read the next day's (negative) review in the expression on Leonard's face.
 
#34 ·
Tanya these are amazing! That one titled "Modern Music man"… what is that from?? I can't believe it! The first one where Bill looks so young. He must be about 16 years old.

There's a way to have your photos show up here without having to click on a link, as Chitownjazz says. In your Photobucket page under each picture is an IMG code. Simply copy that and paste it in your message here. (It helps to have two windows open when you are doing this- one for photobucket and one for this site.) Before you finish your post you can "preview" it first to make sure the photos are there and that you like the layout. If you don't see the preview button, click on "Go Advanced".
 
#36 ·
Tanya these are amazing! That one titled "Modern Music man"… what is that from?? I can't believe it! The first one where Bill looks so young. He must be about 16 years old.

There's a way to have your photos show up here without having to click on a link, as Chitownjazz says. In your Photobucket page under each picture is an IMG code. Simply copy that and paste it in your message here. (It helps to have two windows open when you are doing this- one for photobucket and one for this site.) Before you finish your post you can "preview" it first to make sure the photos are there and that you like the layout. If you don't see the preview button, click on "Go Advanced".
Danny I love ya' but...I am analog gal..send me your phone number or I can get it from Scotty...this is not the most user friendly site or it could just be me...hahaha! i shared you're last 2 emails with him...has he called you yet????
 
#37 ·
I'll give it a go... I do know that dad was the only survivor of a troop that was supposed to cross the Rhine river. They said "hey Bill do you want to play in the band" He got off the truck and the rest is History...Scotty, Me and my Mom...sometimes you make the right decision???? Gosh I think he was part of the 4th armored division? While he was in active duty.. I'll have to ask the rest...
 
#40 ·
I found another LP. On this one, it seems Bill plays 14 instruments. It's a cool photo too with all the woodwinds surrounding him… kind of the opposite of the record where the horns are draped on his body.

In the 1960s, the Page family house had shutters on the outside with little saxophone cameos carved into them.

Image
 
#52 ·
In my opinion, it is a true shame that Mr. Page's name is being used on a commercial site to promote the host's products. See below:
http://www.nationofmusic.com/galleo...om/galleon2/messages.cfm?threadid=97F75A08-F504-C8BC-51C7885CE18A9AAA&page=1&#1
It is no secret that the host in question has long been accused of posting anonymously online to promote his products and attack his critics and was exposed on the Saxquest forum earlier in the year for doing so (reportedly sharing an IP address with one Thomas Bowles). When he recently transferred his forum to a new server, the posts from numerous suspected aliases showed up as being his own when the posts from others, determined to be real and known individuals, did not. I believe "Bill Page" was one such individual's name whose posts later came up as being from the host during the transfer. So perhaps this should be looked into by Mr. Page's family to determine if there is truly a "Bill Page" posting on the site in question recommending the host's products, or is this yet another instance (in my opinion) of consumer fraud.
 
#55 ·
Geez... I just found this thread. I was a fan of Bill Page as a kid. My mom was an avid Welk watcher and I was dumbfounded by the mastery of Bill Page when I was in Jr. High. Being the Welk show, I was always amazed that BP could smile while playing all the time... eyes open and smiling, now that's showmanship.