The Racquette

Issue date: 10/23/09 Section: A&E

Media Credit: Ben O'Brien Smith John William Gordon, guitarist, performs in Hurley's during the jazz show last week.

On October 3, Hurley's Nightclub and its occupants experienced two incredible sets of jazz by the Max Howard Band and the John William Gordon Trio.

Opening the night was the Max Howard Band, a collection of Crane musicians headed by keyboardist Max Howard. The band played all originals, which were incredibly well composed in the sense that each song felt fresh and exciting. Each member of the band had a handful of solos sprinkled throughout the set, and each one exemplified the full vernacular and experience of the member playing. Simply put, the Max Howard Band played to a standard that I would expect from a professional ensemble.

After the Max Howard Band, came The John William Gordon Trio. Before the band took to the stage, I was wondering how they could at all follow up the previous set with something nearly as entertaining. However, The John William Gordon Trio played a set of music with a style that resembled that of jazz's crazy sibling who enjoys going skydiving without a parachute just for the challenge.

Gordon's eclectic guitar playing was atonal, yet somehow seemed melodic. As soon as he would begin to play a recognizable riff, he would veer off into some strange fill but come back as soon as my brain had caught up to him. Accompanying him on bass was SUNY Potsdam alumnus Ryan Lucas, who complement Gordon's playing perfectly. The two created a shifting helix of music that made my head spin. Also of note were Lucas' remarkable bass solos, which were most indefinitely filled with technical proficiency, yet also exuded incredible amounts of emotion and sincerity that made watching Lucas absolutely monumental. Tying the whole ensemble together was drummer Rick Rivera, who played with a zen-like quality that was somewhat unexpected, yet completely appropriate in the mad trio.The whole experience was absolutely mind-blowing. While talking to some of my friends after the show, I discovered that I was not the only person who didn't want to get up for concessions during the set due to the fear of missing something great. If you are a fan of live music, you should definitely try to see both of these bands the next time they play out in Potsdam.

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