MORA'S MODERN RHYTHMISTS was originally formed in 1994 by Dean Mora, a Los Angeles-area pianist whose interest in the 1920s and 1930s was forged early on as a child (he saw the movie "The Sting" when he was 11, and was instantly hooked). Their repertoire first consisted of popular jazz hits of the 1920's and early 1930's, but soon started to include tunes that would be considered precursors to Swing. This was reflected in their first CD, "My Favorite Band", released in 1996, which revealed their affinity for both the styles of Roaring '20s hot jazz and the pre-Swing Era dance tunes of the 1930's.

MORA'S MODERN RHYTHMISTS is a thirteen-piece ensemble devoted to playing classic jazz and swing tunes of the 1920s and early 1930s. Using period arrangements and transcriptions from the original recordings, this group has established itself as one of the foremost interpreters of early big-band music.

It's been a swell 12 years since -- 500 gigs & 6 CDs later, Mora's Modern Rhythmists and its small-band counterpart, Mora's Modern Swingtet, are still going strong, with more CD projects on the way