Dec 3/06
Give me some more, Maurice
I liked that Maurice El Medioni track from yesterday’s post so much that I picked up more of his music today.
Back in 1947 when he was only 19 years old, Medioni, or “Boogie” to his friends, invented his “pianoriental” playing style that blends rai with elements of Latin and French chanson music.
Today’s music is off Maurice El Medioni’s 1982 release, Pianoriental, re-released by Buda in 2002. The music on this album is much more piano-based. I love the way most tracks start with streaming melodies using Arabic scales, often for several minutes, before the Algerian percussion and Latin influence kicks in.
This North African trend will continue for the next few days. I’ve had two tagines in the last 24 hours and I’m just getting started…
Maurice El Medioni - Ouine Rak
Maurice El Medioni - Touchia Sica
December 3rd, 2006 at 1:47 am
Fabulous picks. I love Maurice, but I’ve never heard this early stuff, just great. Thanks!
December 3rd, 2006 at 3:40 am
beautiful sounding piano
December 5th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
These are absolutely fantastic; I love hearing the piano in the context of Arabic music. Thanks as always for your stunning blog.
December 24th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
[...] * And finally, the always wonderful Benn Loxo du Tacco, now a perm link on our sidebar, introducing us to a wonderful musician Maurice El Medouni. [...]