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 1919, as the Coon-Sanders Novelty Orchestra, by drummer Carleton Coon and pianist Joe Sanders. The orchestra began broadcasting in 1922 on clear channel station WDAF, which could be received throughout the United States. They were broadcast in performance at the Muehlbach Hotel in Kansas City. The group moved to Chicago in 1924. Their reputation spread coast-to-coast through broadcasts and the many records they made for Victor. They undertook very successful road tours. The group stopped its activity in the spring of 1932 when Carleton Coon died from a jaw infection. As for Sanders, he died in 1965 after suffering a stroke. This great record was made in 1926.
