(Oriental / Latin / Jewish)

free samples:
Oran Oran
Oh! Ma Belle

Descarga Oriental – The New York Sessions
Raï pioneer and grandmaster of the PianOriental Maurice El Médioni from Oran, Algeria, is a childhood hero of Khaled and featured guest on his last studio album. Latin super-drummer Roberto Rodriguez from Havana, Cuba, already played with everyone from Miami Sound machine to Lester Bowie and Chachao, via Joe Jackson and John Zorn. On invitation of PIRANHA Musik they met in New York for a Descarga Oriental, dreaming of roots that never were. An instant classic, outstanding and full of surprises.


Reviews

“Charlie Gillett applauds the evergreen Algerian pianist who, in his eighth decade, is at the peak of his creative powers. (…)
His emergence outside France began in 1996 with the album Cafe Oran, to which Descarga Oriental is the overdue follow-up, recorded in New York with a group of musicians assembled by percussionist Roberto Rodriguez. Descarga means 'jam session', a free-for-all, but these songs all have a distinct melodic structure and the musicians mostly seem happy to stay in the background, sticking to the groove while Maurice allows his fingers to remember, wonder and wander. If ever a man was born to play music, here he is. I'm sure that if you squeezed him, notes would pour from every pore, each one a delight. (…)
Ry Cooder, the catalyst for those World Circuit albums men-tined earlier, believes that a good musician gets better as he or she gets older. Here's the evidence.
Observer Music Monthly, April 2006

"LOOKING like a retired bank-manager in his black suit and tie, Maurice el Medioni is an unlikely piano legend. But once he launched into his Bienvenue welcome song and the balance of piano over drum kit, bass and Arabic darbuka drum was sorted, Medioni showed his prowess with his light-fingered melodies flowered with delicate ornaments and grace notes.
Medioni's unique speciality is his .......
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