Something hot produced by Marxist sergeant and bandleader? (3,6)
I believe the answer is:
red pepper
'something hot' is the definition.
(hot and spicy pepper)
'marxist sergeant and bandleader?' is the wordplay.
'marxist sergeant' becomes 'red' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'bandleader?' becomes 'pepper' (Sgt Pepper leads a band in a Beatles song).
'red'+'pepper'='RED PEPPER'
'produced by' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for red pepper that I've seen before include "Hot powdered condiment" , "Salad vegetable" , "pungent food" , "A hot mouthful" , "Very hot condiment like cayenne" .)