Maurice El Mediouni
Maurice El Mediouni, French El Médioni (Arabic: مــوريــس الــمــديــونــي, born on 18 October 1928 in Oran, French Algeria) is a French Algerian pianist, composer and interpreter of Andalusian, rai, Sephardic and Arab music. He is one of the few living artists to have performed with artists such as Lili Labassi, Line Monty, Lili Boniche, Samy el Maghribi, and Reinette l’Oranaise. He is also a professional tailor and took up initially music as a hobby.
Born in the Jewish quarter of Oran, in a family of musicians. His uncle was the celebrated Messaoud El Mediouni, "Saoud l'Oranais" who died at the Sobibor concentration camp.[1] He is sometimes regarded as the grandfather of Algerian pop music.[2][3][4]
Following the Algerian war of independence he moved to Paris, France, where he worked as a tailor as well as occasionally backing Jewish singers, and in 1967 to Marseilles where he opened a clothing factory and took a break from his musical career, which he resumed in the 1980s. He is currently based in France and Israel, and can be caught live performing solo or with other Arab-French and Jewish-French artists, such as Mahmoud Fadl, the Klezmatics, as well as playing alongside musicians who had originally accompanied him nearly half a century earlier in Algeria and France.[5]
References
- ↑ Rebecca L. Stein, Ted Swedenburg Palestine, Israel, And The Politics Of Popular CulturePage 254 2005 "El Medioni, who was the master of the next generation of Algerian Jewish artists from Oran, including Reinette l'Oranaise and Lili Boniche, and was the uncle of Maurice El Medioni, met his end at Sobibor concentration camp (Poland) in ..."
- ↑ Frank Tenaille, Le raï: de la bâtardise à la reconnaissance internationale 2002 "Maurice Medioni se rattache à cette lignée d'artistes juifs algériens qui perpétuèrent le classique andalou et dont les figures de proue furent Cheikh Raymond Leyris ou son oncle, Messaoud el-Medioni, dit Saoud l'Oranais, oudiste-chef ..."
- ↑ Los Angeles Magazine - Aug 2003 - Page 208 "Maurice El Medioni Aug. 20. The grandfather of Algerian pop music spans the Arab and Jewish communities."
- ↑ Alliance israélite universelle 1999 "Maurice Medioni, pianiste talentueux qui se produit maintenant avec Lili Boniche, est présent dans l'orchestre."
- ↑ "Maurice el Medioni | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic.