Cafe Oran

This veteran Jewish pianist started playing at the age of nine, gigging around the American bars in Oran shortly after the Allied liberation in 1942. Here, he picked up on boogie woogie, Cuban son and early Algerian rai, mulching all these diverse elements into one highly individual, romantically frilled flow. By the late-50s, he had moved to France, adding Parisian pop songs to the armoury. El Medioni's impressive PianOriental line-up includes a pair of old Klezmatics (clarinettist David Krakauer and trumpeter Frank London) and a 3 Mustapha 3'er (bassist Sabah Habas Mustapha). It also includes an extra-tricky rhythm team in the shape of drummer Marco Maimaran (equally versed in jazz and Arabic music) and rattling Nubian percussionist Mahmoud Fadl (who also leads his own Salamat group). Moroccan singer Michel Rebibo contributes soaring lines whenever El Medioni can contain his own eloquent gush, the pair's preference for flamboyant delivery perfectly matched. The tunes are frequently divided into swerving sections, punctuated by scimitar horn parries, rife with dynamic time-changes, drums and percussion chattering with constantly changing accents. --Martin Longley

Medioni's talent is still awe-inspiring.

Café Oran 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!