Born in London, the son of an Italian wigmaker, he was a child prodigy, performing at the age of 7 at the King's Theatre on March 15, 1804. He was later patronized by the Duke and Duchess of York and the Dukes of Sussex & Cambridge. He studied under Pinto until 1804, then with François Hippolyte Barthélémon and finally with Viotti from 1808-1814. He had 5 children with Eliza, the widow of music publisher Lewis Lavenu, finally marrying her on January 24, 1826 at St. Paul's, Covent Garden when Lavenu's business became known as Mori & Lavenu. He was one of the founders (with his tutor Viotti) of the Philharmonic Society in 1813 and one of the first teachers at the Royal Academy of Music. He died in 1839 after performing a violin recital in London.