Too Busy
LP Broadway Intermission BR-146
Kansas City has a good standing within the history of jazz and even their best hot dance band belongs to the elite in that genre. Or should we call them a jazz band? The creativity and jazz content lies in the often tricky arrangements and the members were capable of producing hot licks in solo spots.
The name was sometimes “Original Nighthawks Orchestra” but more often we refer to them as “Coon Sanders” after their two leaders, and it was the latter, the band’s pianist that was behind the distinctly arranged sound. Joe Sanders also wrote some of the best jazz compositions to be played by white or black bands of the mid 1920s. I recently inherited a book about the band, but I regret to say that I did not have the time to read it yet, so more details in the future.
On this track we hear a nice tune (more famous for a version featuring Louis Armstrong), well arranged and with a vocal from co-leader Carlton Coon who moreover was the band’s drummer.