Atlas Maior at the Milwaukee Jazz Gallery on October 25, 2025

I was very fortunate to be able to catch Atlas Maior, a delightfully flavorful world fusion jazz quartet from Austin, TX at the venerable Jazz Gallery back in October. I'll let the band's bio from their website do the heavy lifting of describing their sound: 

Atlas Maior creates original music that combines elements of Progressive Jazz, Middle Eastern, Latin American, and Indian music traditions. Band members Joshua Thomson (alto saxophone, flutes) and Josh Peters (oud, lavta) create a unique sound that balances intimate moments of sincerity with powerful melodies and incendiary rhythmic passages. Bolstered by a top-notch rhythm section, Atlas Maior writes original melodies exploring maqamat (Middle Eastern modal system) and harmonic progressions found in American jazz. The group composes with a wide variety of rhythms and incorporates traditional instruments including the Indian tablas, Middle Eastern dumbek, and Peruvian cajón.

Purchase their most recent album here.

Recording information:

ATLAS MAIOR

2025-10-25

Milwaukee, WI

The Jazz Gallery

Josh Peters: oud

Joshua Thomson: alto saxophone

Josh Flowers: bass 

Gray Parsons: drums 

Setlist:

01 Ignis Faatus - Hadal (16:27)

02 Orbits (4:42)

03 Basalt (4:53)

04 Zanate (8:27)

05 The Curse (9:12)

06 Neroli (5:15)

07 Ganbei (4:56)

08 Etch and Burn (5:26)

09 Riptide (10:46)

10 Sunbird (8:27)

Total time = 78:30

Recorded with permission by Richard Hayes for this blog

Microphones: Line Audio CM3 in ORTF

Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96

Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

downloads:

16bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC files (476 MB)

these lossless files can be burned to CDR, if you are into that sort of thing

320 kbps mp3 files (229 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible 

Takaat at Cactus Club in Milwaukee on May 19, 2025

Since I first posted my recording of Mdou Moctar at Acme Records in 2018, his star has risen to the point where he is no longer a cult favorite guitarist from Niger and is now selling out large venues in the US and abroad. The rest of his band is now touring the US on their own, in support of a new album release.

  

The word "takaat" apparently means "noise" in the Taureg language, and this band is appropriately a lot more noisy and raucous on their own than with Moctar. The energy was very high at the Cactus Club for this short set, and I look forward to seeing these musicians again.

Purchase their new album here.

Recording information:

TAKAAT
2025-05-19
Milwaukee, WI
Cactus Club

Ahmoudou Madassane: Guitar, Vocals
Mikey Coltun: Bass
Souleymane Ibrahim: Drums

Tracklist:
01 Unknown
02 Unknown
03 Unknown
04 Unknown

Total time = 44:10

Microphones: Line Audio CM3 in NOS
Additional source: soundboard feed
Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96
Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

Recorded with explicit artist permission by Richard Hayes

Thanks to Alex for excellent FOH sound and soundboard patch

downloads:

16bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC files (318 MB)

these lossless files can be burned to CDR, if you are into that sort of thing

320 kbps mp3 files (124 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible 

 video of the band in Allston, MA a few weeks before this show:

Baba Commandant at Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee on September 27, 2023

Mamadou Sanou -- also known as Baba Commandant -- was the lead singer of this group from Burkina Faso which came to Milwaukee and played a wonderful and energetic set at the Turner Ballroom this past September.

   

Mamadou -- who died unexpectedly of malaria two months after this show -- has been described as eccentric. However I found him to only be graceful and charming on stage as he sang soulfully with a lovely deep growl, and watched the crowd with lively eyes as they danced to his songs.

  

  

The group was well known for mixing traditional music from Burkina Faso with western elements of rock and afrobeat. It is a delightful mix and it is a great shame that we will not be able to see this wonderful band on tour in the US again.

   

Buy their most recent album here.

  

Recording information:

  

BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND

2023-09-27

Milwaukee, WI at Turner Hall

Mamdou Sanou: vocals, ngoni

Issouf Diabate: guitar

Wendeya Jessie Josias Ouedragaogo: bass

Cheick Abbas Kabore: drums

Tracklist:

01 Unknown Title (7:16)

02 Unknown Title (6:57)

03 Unknown Title (6:05)

04 Unknown Title (12:43)

05 Unknown Title (7:26)

06 Unknown Title (8:32)

07 Unknown Title (7:35)

08 Unknown Title (7:56)

09 Unknown Title (14:54)

10 Unknown Title (8:38)

Total time = 88:02

Microphones: Line Audio CM3 in NOS at mixing board

Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96

Softare: Audacity, Fission, xAct

Special thanks to Hisham Mayet of the Sublime Frequencies label for helping remove obstacles in the convoluted process of being allowed to tapes concerts at Pabst Theater Group venues, and especially for being pro-taping.

downloads:

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (529 MB)

these lossless files can be burned to CDR, if you are into that

320 kbps mp3 files (223 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible 

Hanami at the Jazz Gallery in Milwaukee on March 17, 2024

Milwaukee was fortunate in having guitarist Andrew Trim move here from Chicago a few years ago. Whether subbing for Russ Johnson in the Dave Bayles Trio at the raucous Uptowner bar, or laying down fiery John McLaughlin-inspired jazz rock chaos in Retroreflector at the legendary rock club Cactus Club, he has been a real highlight for the Milwaukee jazz scene recently.

The band Hanami came to the Jazz Gallery in Milwaukee for an hour of warm jazz on a cool and dark night not much suited to a cherry blossom viewing party. Inside the venue, however, there was plenty of sunlight and color.

   

I think the promotional material for their latest album describes their background quite well:

"When guitarist Andrew Trim and multi-reedist Mai Sugimoto came together in 2011 to raise funds for the victims of Japan’s Tohoku tsunami, it was intended to be a one-off concert. But the concert turned into band “Hanami,” (named for the Japanese custom of experiencing the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms), and the band recorded a debut album (modern jazz takes on traditional Japanese songs), and the wheels were set in motion for something much larger than the initial concept. While Trim and Sugimoto, both of whom lived in Japan as children, were reluctant to record many more Japanese songs for fear of being branded a cover band, dreams of that country still swim through this latest album, which is all originals except for a cover of the 1901 song “Kojo no Tsuki,” or “The Moon over the Ruined Castle."

   

  

Buy their latest album here.

Recording information:

HANAMI

2024-03-17

Milwaukee, WI at the Jazz Gallery

Andrew Trim: guitar

Mai Sugimoto: alto sax

Jason Stein: bass clarinet

Charles Rumback: drums

Setlist:

01 Hanaikada (7:38)

02 Haru no Umi (15:13)

03 Shira Ito No Taki (9:27)

04 Miyagete Goran Yoru No Hoshi Wo (8:03)

05 The Only Way to Float Free (7:27)

06 Cloud’s Theme (Final Fantasy VII) (9:29)

07 Donmai! (12:13)

Total time = 69:30

Microphones: Line Audio CM3 in NOS in front row

Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96

Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

Recorded with explicit artist permission by Richard Hayes

downloads:

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (367 MB)

these lossless files can be burned to CDR, if you are into that

320 kbps mp3 files (117 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible 

Mdou Moctar at the Cooperage in Milwaukee on April 6, 2019

Please see my previous recording of Mdou Moctar at Acme Records here. In that post, I included his biographical information. He came around again this year to play a Milwaukee Psych Fest warm-up showcase at the Cooperage with three supporting acts. 

This was a lively, exciting show as Moctar toured in support of his new album.

This was recorded from atop a tripod about 10 feet in the air (to try to get above people talking -- mostly successful) using a Superlux S502 stereo ORTF microphone and fed into a Sound Devices MixPre 6. Audacity was utilized for gentle compression and EQ adjustments.

Listen, using headphones or external computer speakers:

Thanks very much to Chris Kirkley, the owner of Sahel Sounds, for helping me acquire the permission to tape, and to Max for doing great room sound.

Please support these superb musicians by seeing their live shows, buying multiple copies of their great merchandise (your friends are starving for great music -- why aren't you buying them music?), and talking to them respectfully after shows. Unless they look tired or something.

https://sahelsounds.com/artists/mdou-moctar/

https://mdoumoctar.bandcamp.com

downloads (click on the description to download):

16bit, 44.1kHz WAV file (635 MB)

suitable for burning to CD

16bit, 44.1kHz ALAC file (368 MB)

lossless copy of the wav file - can also be burned to CD or played on your iPhone

320kbps mp3 file (144 MB)

highest quality version of this lossy-but-popular audio file format

Mdou Moctar at Acme Records and Music Emporium in Milwaukee on June 3, 2018

This was a show I was really looking forward to. Tours of musicians from the Republic of Niger are pretty rare these days, both for practical reasons as well as for the difficulties which musicians encounter when attempting to obtain working visas to be able to tour in the United States.

above photo courtesy of Ken Chrisien

above photo courtesy of Ken Crisien

photos without attribution in this post are by Richard Hayes

The descriptive paragraphs you'll see in almost every article and blurb about Mdou Moctar are here copied from the Sahel Records website:

Mdou Moctar hails from a small village in the Azawagh desert of Niger, a remote region steeped in religious tradition. As a child, he taught himself to play homemade guitars, cobbled together out of planks of wood. It was years later before he found a “real” guitar, teaching himself in secret. In an area where guitar music was all but prohibited, he quickly rose to the status of local celebrity amongst the village youth.

In 2008 he traveled to Nigeria to record his first album "Anar." A psychedelic reworking of the Tuareg sound, the electronic tracks featured innovative pitch bending synths, drum machines, and autotune. In 2010, he teamed up with the label and collective Sahel Sounds, releasing his first international album, “Afelan.” In 2015, he co-wrote and starred in the first ever Tuareg language film, “Rain the Color Blue with a Little Red In It,” a Saharan remake of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” In 2017, he again shifted gears to another sound with “Sousoume Tamachek,” a mellow blissed out recording evoking the calm desert soundscape, tackling religion, spirituality, and matters of the heart.

The concert was a bit later than originally planned, as this is the holy month of Ramadan and Mdou was observing his fast despite the rigors of traveling. A buffet of food was served at around 8:30pm and the show started about 9:30 lasting almost an hour. 

The show was recorded with explicit artist and label permission by Richard Hayes using a pair of Beyerdynamic MC930 microphones on a 9-foot pole in the back of this acoustically wonderful room in a modified DIN formation and supplemented by a single Shure SM58 up front (to get a better drum sound into the mix). This was all captured on an Edirol R-44 recorder at 24/96 resolution. The files were converted to 16/44 using Audacity and then converted to ALAC (Apple Lossless format) and mp3 using xAct. 

The store's PA system was only used for the vocals, which are a little bit buried in the mix -- my understanding is they were having some trouble with feedback on the vocal mic at the soundcheck. Acme is a wonderful acoustic space -- all wooden surfaces everywhere and the exposed rafters in the ceiling disperse the sound and help eliminate echoes. You can get a sense of the room in the pictures above.

It's a solid recording of a great show and I want to thank Sahel Sounds owner Chris Kirkley for helping me to get permission to record this wonderful artist and his band. 

Please support this fine artist and the decent people in his band by going to their shows, buying multiple copies of their merchandise (your friends need the music), and talking to them like they are actual real human beings after shows. If you can.

http://sahelsounds.com/mdou-moctar/
http://mdoumoctar.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/mdoumoctarofficial/

http://www.acmerecordsmke.com
http://www.facebook.com/AcmeRecordsMusicEmporium/

A guide to download formats:

WAV = files which are able to be burned as a CD without any conversion steps. This is the largest size of file on offer here.

ALAC = stands for Apple Lossless Audio Codec, which is a method of making a lossless copy of an audio file with about 60% of the space required with a WAV file. You can play these files on any Apple device (using the Music app) and enjoy the same resolution and sound quality as a WAV file (it just takes up half as much space on your hard drive or device -- a shame, right?). 

mp3 - this is a lossy compression codec which utilizes psycho-acoustic "tricks" and techniques to drop certain audio information which is not noticeable under normal hearing situations. I am not an enthusiastic fan of mp3 but still find it convenient because a high quality mp3 file will take up about 25% of the room on your storage device compared to a WAV file and about half as much as a ALAC file.

downloads:

16bit, 44.1kHz WAV files (581 MB)

16 bit, 44.1 kHz ALAC files (370 MB)

320 kbps mp3 files (132 MB)