Title: Cafe Oran - Áëãåñßá Maurice el Medioni Maurice el Medioni (piano), David Krakauer (clarinet, bass clarinet) Frank London (trumpet), Sabah Habas Mustapha (bass guitar), Mahmoud Fadl (percussion) 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. Titles   1. Bienvenue / Abiadi 2. Taktouk andalou / Ghazalati 3. Ma Aamlo Biya 4. Rai Rock Rumba 5. Ya Ghbina 6. Ma Testahalchi 7. Ya Maalem / Kelbi Razahi 8. Meklassates 1 & 2 9. Ahla Ouassahla 10. Moel¢ Medio 11. Cocktail andalou