In the summer of 2015, a few musicians from Pilsen only wanted to play occasionally in the beer garden or on the street, just as jazz musicians did in New Orleans. A year later, The Dixie Hot Licks were among the most sought-after Dixieland bands in the Czech Republic; in 2017 they toured the Baltic states, and in 2018 the number of concerts was approaching one hundred a year.
The name comes from jazz jargon. A lick is a short, incisive phrase; a hot lick is an especially hot one. On one occasion, the Pilsen Dixieland Festival playfully rendered the band name into Czech as "hot Dixieland lollipops."
The bandleader is trombonist Jindřich Jindřich. Together with Jiří Kodajek on trumpet and Zbyšek Brůj on clarinet and saxophones, he forms the classic three-horn frontline of New Orleans jazz, where collective improvisation and solos alternate. Underneath, a rhythm section of Filip Hahn on banjo and guitar, Stanislav Vaník on sousaphone and Radek Vaník on drums provides the foundation. At the front is Jana Jiroušková, who sings and plays the washboard. Her voice gives the pieces the sound of the 1920s, while the washboard sharpens the pulse.
The repertoire mixes crowd-pleasers with genuine rarities. Alongside "Royal Garden Blues", "That's A Plenty" and "Darktown Strutters' Ball", there are titles such as "Hindustan" and the "Alcoholic Blues" from 1919. Four albums have been released between 2016 and 2022.
The band is known in two stage outfits. In its rebellious look, the men wear striped shirts, red braces and sneakers; in its more formal appearance, patent shoes and bow ties. There is also a third format, the walking act, in which the band moves through streets, gardens and the festival grounds as a mobile acoustic ensemble.
The confidence the scene places in these musicians became clear at the first Marienbad Dixieland & Swing Festival. There they accompanied the New York trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso, long-time member of Vince Giordanos Nighthawks. Concerts in Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Lithuania and Latvia have long been part of their calendar. Anyone listening closely to the Ringelshirt-Programm will notice that beneath the fun lies a highly disciplined rhythm section.
