Maurice El Medioni

Born In Oran Algeria In 1928 El Medioni Grew Up In A Sephardic Community. His Father And Uncle Ran A Cabaret Nightclub In Oran's Jewish Quarter Not Unlike Rick's Café In The Film Casablanca. Taking Musical Cues From French Pop Songs And The Jewish/Arabic Andalusian Music Around Him El Medioni Taught Himself To Play The Piano At The Age Of 9. Then As A Teenager During World War II A Bar Owner Hired Him To Play For The American Soldiers Who Had Arrived To Liberate Algeria From German Occupation. read less