Raoul Journo - Tresors de la chanson judeo arabe (CD)

Raoul Journo (1911-2001), master of ceremonies and crooner of the medina...Even today, in Tunis, Paris and Tel Aviv, the warm, heady voice of Saul Journo, aka Raoul, resonates at wedding and circumcision parties, bar mitzvahs and Jewish pilgrimages, as his songs are covered by various bands and orchestras. His compositions, rivaling those of Farid El Atrache, the Egyptian-druze tenor, are also present at traditional prayers, just as his compliments and wishes - the famous talils - addressed to guests at the high points of popular festivities are regularly highlighted. What Maghrebian audiences appreciated most, apart from his impressive chest and poetic verve, was his loyalty to the land, always refusing to give in to Egyptian or Lebanese borrowings, which were nonetheless highly prized by Arab audiences at the time.