Trésors de la Musique Judéo-Arabe

Another welcome haul through the treasure trove of Jewish-Arab popular song: in this case, it's 13 tracks, including three released for the first time, by one of the greatest stars of French Algerian music. After going into exile, running cinemas in Paris, Boniche continued to perform both in public and at private late-night dinners for president Mitterrand, who was a fan from his days in Algiers.

Recorded partly in the late 50s and partly in the mid-70s, the music includes excellent versions of Boniche's big hits ‘Guitarra’ and ‘Alger, Alger’, versions of period pop anthems such as ‘Bambino’, and the odd traditional air. Boniche's fine agile tenor voice is showcased by a very nice band featuring the virtuoso pianist and musical director Mustapha Skandrani and the polished violin of Abdelghani Belkaid. Whatever you think of Mitterrand the politician, he took his worldly entertainment seriously; what was good enough for Tonton should be good enough for the rest of us.