Tongue in Cheek, one of Maryland’s most popular traditional old-time swing bands, evokes the era of banjos, fiddles, brass, hot jazz, loose men, and clean liquor. As Baltimore's premier Prohibition Party band, they honor both tradition and innovation in this classic music. They combine the American Dixieland and Blues traditions with a rhythm section much inspired by Django Reinhardt’s recordings and American Bluegrass bands of today.

In this concert, the band will play a collection of lost songs from the early jazz era, exploring the composers, singers, and instrumentalists who helped push jazz forward in the late 1920s and early 1930s but who are not as well known by the general public. Songs in the program include “Then I’ll Be Happy,” composed by Josephine Baker, an American artist who faced prosecution as a performer in the U.S. but found her fame in Paris in the late 1920s. “Don’t Keep Me in The Dark Bright Eyes,” composed by Pete Wendling; the band’s version is from their favorite 1920s singer, Lee Morse. It’s a jaunty old song with a very interested form and a unique set of changes. “If You’s a Viper,” composed by Stuff Smith, a hot jazz violinist from the 1930s who is one of the band’s favorite musicians in the style. This song is full of intriguing slang from the 1920s and paints a picture of what it meant to be “hip” at that time period. “Button Up Your Overcoat,” by Ray Henderson; the band’s version is from Annette Hanshaw. The song describes a woman from the 1920s who relies on her husband to sustain her life, with amusing advice to the wife from her husband. And they’ll play one original, the band’s latest: “Baltimore Lean,” composed by Zach Serleth, Bridget Cimino, and Matt Andrews. It tells a cautionary tale of the horrors of drug abuse in Baltimore City.

Tongue in Cheek is led by vocalist Bridget Cimino and bassist/banjo player Zach Serleth. Together they explore the New Orleans Jazz tradition, discovering long-forgotten songs, reinventing old favorites. The group released their first album, Mobtown Strutters Ball, in 2016, and have just released a new album titled Jelly Roll. From traditional rag time dances, to Mingus and Monk covers, to the complete Louis Armstrong repertoire, Tongue in Cheek is paving the way for Neo-Traditional American Jazz Music. Whether the audience is sitting in chairs or up on their feet on the dance floor, all are thoroughly entertained, and audience members find themselves singing along to songs they heard from grandma and grandpa and the old-time movies.