The 12-piece Hotel Paradise Roof Garden Orchestra, led by Lynn Summerall, center, plays jazz and dance tunes popular from the early 1920s through the mid-1930s. It will perform next on April 8 at Paulie Gee’s in Hampden. Photo by Dennis Lynch

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Lynn Summerall loves the early big band sounds of the 1920s and 1930s, and is counting on Baltimore audiences to feel the same way.

The Hampden resident is bringing the music of that era back with the Hotel Paradise Roof Garden Orchestra. They will perform in Hampden on Sunday, April 8, and Sunday, May 13, at Paulie Gee’s.

The Hotel Paradise Roof Garden Orchestra is a 12-piece big band specializing in early jazz and sweet dance tunes from 1920 to 1935 — well before the Glenn Miller Swing Era.

“Our sound is what one would hear in Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies, plus Roaring Twenties-flavored jazz as played by the young Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington or Guy Lombardo,” said the 71-year-old Summerall, who lives in Hampden.

Many of the orchestra’s arrangements were found in the Library of Congress, and are the same ones first played and recorded 90 years ago by such legends as Fats Waller, W. C. Handy, Jelly Roll Morton, Glen Gray, Fletcher Henderson, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.

Authentic period orchestra

“Our music is bright, sweet, jazzy, fun, old-fashioned and danceable,” said Summerall. He adds that the style — and look — of the orchestra is also authentic to the period, thanks to the inclusion of a tuba (rather than string bass), banjo (instead of guitar) and a violin section.

Summerall, who holds a theater degree from Towson University and studied trombone at the Peabody Conservatory, conducts the orchestra. He led a similar band for more than 15 years in Norfolk, Va., where he was a classical and jazz announcer for an NPR radio station.

Before that, he had a career in marketing and public relations for a wide variety of theaters, ranging from Baltimore’s Center Stage and the Mechanic Theater, to Radio City Music Hall and the Metropolitan Opera.

The music the orchestra plays continues to be popular almost a century after it debuted because, Summerall said, “It’s simply good music.”

Music for all ages

Mike Custer, the orchestra’s drummer, agrees.

He observes that it’s not just baby boomers and older listeners who enjoy the music. Younger audiences are becoming familiar with jazzy, big band sounds because they permeate a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game called “Fallout” that’s set in the 22nd century, he said.

Custer, who is 62, has a long musical family history. Not only has he played in bands since he was 15, but his mother was a tap dancer who ran a boarding house where visiting musicians stayed, and his father was an enthusiastic big band follower.

“The music appeals to people of all ages,” he said. Custer assures newcomers, “You’ll have a great time.”

Paulie Gee’s is located at 3535 Chestnut Ave. in Hampden.

The cover charge is $12 and reservations are suggested. Call (240) 475-8086. And since the music is likely to get your toes tapping, bring your dancing shoes!