Mora's Modern Swingtet
We are very excited to have secured this fantastic band for this year's festival. They are widely considered amongst the global Bal community as one of the very best bands in the world. For the first time in the UK we have the chance to experience them live for two very special nights of dancing right here in London.
Mora’s Modern Swingtet is the small-group unit from Mora’s Modern Rhythmists, one of the leading interpreters of 1920s/1930s dance band music (Many people on the Bal scene are already familiar with the sound of this group having CDs by the Rhythmists). Bandleader Dean Mora is a Los Angeles-area pianist whose interest in this time period inspires him to bring the music of this era back to life, utilizing authentic original published arrangements as well as transcriptions from recordings.
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The Swingtet, formed in 1998, was created not to merely play trimmed-down versions of the Rhythmists’ musical selections, but rather to perform 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. Vocalist Kayre Morrison joins the Swingtet for renditions of classics such as “You’re A Sweetheart”, “Too Good To Be True”, and “Moonglow”.
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The band has played in a number of historic venues in Southern California, including the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the Biltmore Hotel, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, the Green Hotel, the Oviatt Building, and the Los Angeles Theatre. Festival appearances include
the San Clemente Jazz Festival and the Sweet & Hot Classic Jazz Festival (Los Angeles). The Swingtet is also a favourite among dancers at the world-famous Derby nightclub in Hollywood.
They will be keeping us swinging at both the Friday Welcome Party (26th Oct) and the Big Swingin' Ball on Saturday (27th Oct).
Sound Sample (3:20) from the Swingtet’s CD: 20th Century Closet
Find out more about them on the Mora's Modern web site.
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