Joseph L. Sanders (October 26, 1896,

Thayer, Kansas Thayer is a city in Neosho County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 432. History Thayer was laid out in the fall of 1870 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for Nathaniel Thay ...

- May 14, 1965,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist, singer, and band leader associated with

Kansas City jazz Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band style to the much more improvisational style of bebop. The hard- swinging, bluesy tra ...

for most of his career. Sanders was best known for co-leading the

Coon-Sanders' Nighthawks Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra was the first Kansas City jazz band to achieve national recognition, which it acquired through national radio broadcasts. It was founded in 1918, as the Coon-Sanders Novelty Orchestra, by drummer Carleto ...

along with

Carleton Coon Carleton Stevens Coon (June 23, 1904 – June 3, 1981) was an American anthropologist. A professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, lecturer and professor at Harvard University, he was president of the American Association of ...

(1894–1932). The pair formed the group in 1920 in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

under the name Coon-Sanders Novelty Orchestra, broadcast for the first time on radio the following year, and became known as the Nighthawks because of their frequent appearances on late night radio. They recorded in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1924 and held a residency at the Blackhawk club in that city from 1926. The ensemble toured as a Midwestern

territory band Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, six or seven n ...

, and after Coon's death Sanders continued to lead the band under his own name. Sanders worked mostly in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

studios in the 1940s, and occasionally led performances at the Blackhawk once again. He was a vocalist for the Kansas City Opera in the 1950s. Sanders' brother,

Roy Sanders (National League pitcher) Roy Garvin Sanders, nicknamed "Butch", (August 1, 1892 – January 17, 1950) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. In 1917, Sanders was purchased from the Kansas City Blues of the American Association by the Cincinnati Reds and would play with t ...

, was a professional baseball player.

References

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

Joe Sanders Joseph L. Sanders (October 26, 1896, Thayer, Kansas - May 14, 1965, Kansas City, Missouri) was an American jazz pianist, singer, and band leader associated with Kansas City jazz for most of his career. Sanders was best known for co-leading the ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*"Joe Sanders". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''.

External links

Joe Sanders recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Joe 1896 births 1965 deaths American jazz bandleaders American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from Kansas People from Neosho County, Kansas 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Criss Cross Jazz artists

References

Further reading

External links