MORA'S MODERN MUSIC represents the various vintage-style bands founded by pianist Dean Mora and based in Los Angeles, California.   These groups perform American dance music from the years 1900 to 1950, using period arrangements and transcriptions from the original recordings.  Each group is presented with a keen eye towards authenticity, both in terms of musical performance, as well as the appearance of its musicians.

The musical ensembles represented are:

Mora's Modern Rhythmists (1920s-1930s dance band)

Mora's Modern Swingtet (1930s-1940s small band)

Dean Mora And His Orchestra (1930s-1940s big band)

Mora's Ragtime Orchestra (Music from 1900-1920)

MORA'S MODERN RHYTHMISTS is the "flagship" of the MMM family, having been the first to be organized back in 1994, for the purpose of performing American popular dance music from the 1920s and early 1930s, using period arrangements and transcriptions from the original recordings.

Following a series of small concerts around the Los Angeles area, the Rhythmists were hired as the Monday-night house band at the Derby, a nightclub situated in one of the original Brown Derby Restaurants, in Hollywood, and which was considered by many to be the "ground-zero" of the Swing Revival of the 1990s.  Soon, Mora's Modern Rhythmists began to garner a reputation as one of the best swing bands in Los Angeles, and their Monday night performances gained a cult following among dancers and band enthusiasts alike.  They remained at the club for almost three years.

Following their departure from the Derby in late 1999, Mora's Modern Rhythmists began to perform at many other venues in the Los Angeles area, many of a historical nature.  These venues include:

Special events include:

Corporate and Civic clients include:

Other special events include:

Mora's Modern Rhythmists have released 5 CDs to date:

Mora's Modern Rhythmists continues its search of unknown hot jazz and swing classics, and will present them with the same dedication to authenticity and musicianship that has earned them high praise among record critics and fans alike from around the world.

MORA'S MODERN SWINGTET is a 7-piece musical group formed in 1998 as the small-group counterpart to Mora's Modern Rhythmists.  Originally created to play the Rhythmists' arrangements (for the budget-conscious client), the Swingtet eventually developed its own identity, complete with its own repertoire -- that of the famous small groups of the 1930s/1940s, such as Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven, Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five, the Ellingtonians, and the John Kirby Orchestra, among others.  This made it an entirely new band, separate from the Modern Rhythmists, but still retaining the musicianship of the larger group.

The Swingtet has become a favorite among swing dancers in the Los Angeles area, performing at Southern California-area venues such as:

The group has also played in a number of historic venues, which include:

Mora's Modern Swingtet is a favorite of many summer concert attendees. Cities where the Swingtet has performed "outdoors" include:

In 2007, the Swingtet made their first-ever appearance in Great Britain, performing to great acclaim at the London Balboa Festival;  in early 2008, they will fly back out to Europe again, this time to Munich for the Rock That Swing Festival.

The band has also played for numerous private functions, including weddings, anniversary parties, and corporate events. Their first CD, "20th Century Closet" was released in 2004 to critical acclaim.

DEAN MORA AND HIS ORCHESTRA is the newest member of the Mora's Modern Music family, having been formed in 2006 to play the classic repertoire of the Big Bands of the 1930s and 1940s. This is the largest band ever assembled by Dean Mora: 20 musicians in all!: and has received great acclaim by dancers and big band enthusiasts alike.

The Orchestra has performed several times at Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club (a 1940s-style supper club located at the historic Oviatt Building in downtown Los Angeles), as well as having performed at the newly-restored Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park. 2008 promises to be a year of many more performances by this group, easily the most "authentic" big band in Southern California.

MORA'S RAGTIME ORCHESTRA was formed in 2006 to present the ragtime repertoire from the late 1890s to the 1910s, using period arrangements. This is pianist Dean Mora's effort to return to his "roots" (he started out on his adventure in vintage music some twenty years ago by playing in a ragtime band). The group's repertoire encompasses the wide variety of music popular during this period, from classic rags by Scott Joplin, to popular songs by Irving Berlin; from marches by John Phillip Sousa, to the tango and waltz dances.

DEAN MORA is a Los Angeles-born pianist whose interest in the 1920s and 1930s was forged early on as a child; when he was 11 years old, he watched the movie "The Sting", and was instantly smitten with the cars, clothes, and music associated with the film.  After graduating from California State University, Northridge in the mid-1980s, Dean joined up with noted ragtime scholar Galen Wilkes' Palm Leaf Ragtime Orchestra, and later on with another local ragtime group, The Magnetic Ragtime Orchestra.  In 1994 Dean decided to forge ahead into more "modern" music with the formation of his 1920s/1930s band, Mora's Modern Rhythmists.  The rest, they say, is history...