Mustapha Skandrani, (November 17, 1920 in the Lower Casbah, Algiers – October 2005) was an Algerian pianist, performer of chaâbi music. His family was native of Cherchell (Tipasa) and according to him, its origins are from Iskander, a town in Turkey. He grew up and studied until the elementary certificate without problem in the secular Casbah. His radio debut is with the composer Rachid Ksentini and his partner Marie Soussan. Mahieddine Bachtarzi a singer nicknamed The Desert Caruso by the French press discovers him and undertakes him to replace previous Israelite pianists, then masters of piano. He thus makes a major tour in Algeria in 1940 with Umm Kulthum, Mahieddine Bachtarzi, Driscar, Mustapha Kateb and others. On his return from tour, he accompanied all the stars who attended concerts among other Dahmane Ben Achour, El Hadj Menouar and the dean of Chaabi music El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka. As a conductor of the concert part, Skandrani was present in 46 creations of the Arab Theatre of the Opera of Algiers. In 1956, musicologist El Boudali Safir which imposed since 1943 as artistic director licensed for 20 long years, assigned him to the modern orchestra and instructs him to replace El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka to the direction of the popular orchestra. He was also the soloist in the classical orchestra commissioned to Abderrazak Fakhardji, a position he held until the independence of Algeria, combining its radio business with interests in the emerging television. Since 1938, Mustapha Skandrani composed over 300 modern compositions or chaâbi and 187 qasida and ditties including "Youm El Djemaa", "El Haraz", "Kifechhilti", "Qahoua ou lateye", "A bouya Hnini" "A laini filaati. " From 1966 to 1981, he devoted himself to teaching by taking a class at the Conservatory of Algiers. In 1981, Mustapha Skandrani directed the conservatory. He died on October 8, 2005 at his home in Algiers after a long and painful illness. He was 85 years old. He is buried at the Sidi M'hamed Cemetery. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.