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Maurice El Medioni: The PiaOrientalist
Café Oran
$17.99
Pianist Maurice El Médioni combines North African, Andalusian, Jewish, Cuban and western jazz and pop with his ownunique keyboard technique. The backing orchestra is a stellar cast of Moroccan singer Michel Rebibo, Frank London on trumpet and David Krakauer on clarinet (both from the Klezmatics), bassist Sabah Habas Mustapha (of 3 Mustaphas 3), Egyptian percussionist Mahmoud Fadl, and drummer/percussionist Marco Maimaran.
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"... Médioni was born in 1928, taught hmself the piano at an early age and frequented Oran's American bars in the 1940s. His big loves were boogie-woogie and Cuban music, and his style is born of the fusing of these distinct influences with Arabic music. The piano is, of course, a European instrument, but in Médioni's the melodies take on a middle eastern character, subtly decorated and turning round on themselves in modal arabesques. On Café Oran he is joined by the Moroccan-born singer Michel Rebibo (who sings in Arabic and French), master-percussionist Mahmoud Fadl... and by two members of The Klezmatics... on clarinet and trumpet " - Simon Broughton "World music 100 Essential CDs. The Rough Guide"
" Simply said, Café Oran is one of the most original, unpretentious and organically compelling recordings to emerge from the extended encounter between Spanish, North African and Sephardic musical influences." - Michael Stone, RootsWorld |
The record label says:
Biography
Maurice El Medioni grew up in Algeria, in the Mediterranean port Oran. In the 1930´s he lived with his family in the Jewish quarter. Medioni´s life took a drastic turn when his brother purchased an old piano at the flea market and brought it home. Within days, Maurice, nine years old, taught himself, without the guidance of a teacher, to play popular French songs he had heard on the radio. As the influences in his life changed so did his musical style. When Algeria was liberated from the French in 1942, Maurice was playing the piano for the American troops at the US Forces Red Cross Bar in Oran. With Maurice´s permission, the soldiers used his piano to play the popular jazz and boogie-woogie numbers. By observing the dancing fingers of the soldiers he quickly learned to play these musical styles and incorporated them into his unique style. To meet the requests of the soldiers, he picked up boogie-woogie and Latino numbers. Later, befriending three Rai singers from Algeria, he was brought into the Andalous music culture, where he introduced the piano into the Rai music. Maurice gained popularity in his area and soon became the respected pianist for "l´Opéra" in Oran, joining talented musicians from many different parts of North Africa as well as other Jewish artists like Lillie Boniche and Lili Labassi.
In 1962, after 8 years of civil war, Algeria gained independence from France and most Algerian Jews, including Maurice and his family, were forced into exile.
"Life was good in Algeria, but when we left, we had to live hand to mouth. It's very tough to be driven from your country when you don't want to leave. It's not like being an emigrant searching for a better life."
After his many years at the top of the music scene in his homeland, Maurice adapted quickly and again reached stardom in Paris, where he remained for many years. Later, the unique musical style of Maurice was recognized internationally and his career skyrocketed as demand grew. Today, at the ripe age of 72, he resides in Marseilles. He still charms the ears of onlookers, using his left hand to form the eclectic sounds of boogie, jazz and Cuban rhythms and his right hand shaping a unique Arabic style.
Once upon a time in Algeria....... Maurice El Medioni reveals the past colonial splendour of Oran - the Algerian coastal city, birthplace of rai music. The Jewish pianist, one of the foremost pioneers in Algerian pop music, has mixed a nostalgic cocktail with Cuban rhythms, French cabaret chic and Arabian mellowness. The swinging melodies rekindle the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Oran of the past when it was the melting pot for all religions and cultures. Play it again, Maurice!
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