This hot little combination, an offshoot of Spats & His Rhythm Boys, consists of Norman Field on clarinet and saxes plus Spats Langham on banjo, guitar and vocals, underpinned by the mighty bass sax of Frans Sjöström. On this occasion, they will be joined by a mystery guest, thus bringing them up to their billing. Quite what they will get up to is anybody’s guess, but since between them they know just about every hot jazz, hot dance and crooner tune ever written from 1915 to 1935 (not to mention the banjoistic effusions of the estimable Mr. Harry Reser and his ilk), they should have no difficulty filling their allotted time. Suffice it to say that the music will be esoteric, charming, quirky, hot, tender, technically brilliant and above all totally individual - just like the four extravagantly talented gentlemen who will be playing it.

The Hot Antics are back – well, we could not have failed to invite them for our last Festival. The band name is a triple pun on the words hot and antique, which when said together in a French accent sound like “authentic”. Well, hot, old authentic jazz is just what you get, in any language, when these five super-talented Frenchmen (and one equally talented German) begin to play. Founded way back in 1979, the band with its Gallic charm, supreme musical ability and unique brand of semi-arranged classic 1920’s hot jazz (with a heavy emphasis on the work of Jabbo Smith, also Bix & Tram) has become a truly world-wide success. The Hot Antics have made appearances in Africa, Asia, North & South America (including a concert at New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall) and all over Europe – and six times at Whitley Bay! Do not miss this one, it may well be their last U.K. appearance. And oh, those vocals…..

LA RETAGUARDIA JAZZ BAND

We believe this is the first time a jazz band from Chile has appeared in the UK, and it’s great that La Retaguardia should form the advance-guard in this respect, since their name translates as “the rear-guard”: in their choice of the classic jazz of Morton, Ellington, Henderson, Oliver and Armstrong, they represent the very opposite of the “avant-garde” so beloved of Arts Councils the world over. Their stubborn resistance to the forces of modernism began way back in 1958, so this is a rearguard action on the epic scale of Dunkirk, or Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow – and the intensity with which they play is very indicative of their deeply-held feelings on the subject. The eight-piece band is led by pianist and founder-member Antonio Campusano; they are based in Santiago, where they appear regularly both live and on TV, and have performed at festivals in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans and the South of France.