Maimouna Jallow in London

	Maimouna Jallow in the Network Africa office

Sitting by the piano, he was with two other men, all laughing and slapping the piano so hard with their mirth that I feared for their health.

I stood there and Maurice then turned to me and recounted the joke, just so that I wouldn't feel left out... it was something about a cemetery - I didn't get it but I was smiling anyway.

During the soundcheck I watched in awe as the masterful el Medioni's fingers caressed the piano keys.

He was relaxed and he clearly still loves playing as much at 77 as he did when he first took up the instrument at the age of nine.

	El Medioni clearly still loves playing as much today as he has ever done

The band are like a family; there are two percussionists, one on a bongo drum and the other with a large drum kit, and a guitarist who has been playing with Maurice for forty years.

El Medioni's magic

What is it that makes Maurice el Medioni's music so magical?

His background first of all, which is reflected in his wide-ranging musical influences.

Born into a Jewish family in the Algerian port city of Oran, el Medoni first started playing music at his friends' parties when he was still a child.

In the 1940s, he was introduced to jazz, rumba and the boogie woogie by American and Latino soldiers posted in Algeria.

He became a cabaret star while in exile in Paris during the Algerian war of independence in the 1960s.

El Medoni went on to introduce the piano into early Rai music and years later collaborated with the now famous Khaled.

New album

Today, the legendary pianist continues to rock audiences around the world and has just released a new album in collaboration with Cuban musician, Roberto Rodriguez, entitled, Descarga Oriental - The New York Sessions.

Listen to the interview with Maurice el Medioni