Fans of North African music and movies conjure up 'Rick's Place' in 'Casablanca' and hope for North African-International music that might fit that era. Maurice El Medioni may have come from there but he does not deliver what contemporary North African music lovers might hope for or what 'Colonialists' might wish to remember. This CD also features 'The Klezmatics'--a modernized reference to klezmer music traditions typified, for me, by Giora Fiedman. They and their tradition don't get much of an outing here. I wanted to see these two 'grooves' come together! For my taste, Maurice El Medioni delivers piano music that features changes in rhythms, percussive effects and wonderful tonalities but he does not captivate. Many of his compositions draw too much from the same well and feature the same sonic effects. For me, this outing of his is a bit like a third-world lounge act.