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About Jeff Glovsky
on ...

LinkedIn (DE)

Dividing his time between München and New York City, Jeff Glovsky is a dedicated business owner / entrepreneur with an ear for writing and an eye for photography; and a multimedia / presentation support specialist with a background in live music and years of hands-on experience in touring, club, festival, hotel, university and Tier 1 financial settings.

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XING

Jeff Glovsky offers corporate event services, AV / production support and renewable (solar) energy consultation to an established private client database. He is a photographer / "raw" image content provider and a published writer of exaggerated non-fiction ("faction") short stories and prose poetry.

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Viadeo

Jeff Glovsky is a corporate event services and executive travel consultant, as well as a boating enthusiast and yacht and private jet charter partner. He has been a jazz and world music booking agent, and currently works with the non-profit Global Music Project® as a regional events director.

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Music2Deal

As a live 'Tonmensch' (sound engineer), Jeff Glovsky has mixed sound at the Blue Note, Jazz Standard and Birdland jazz clubs in New York City, and for Sue Mingus and the Mingus Big Band / Mingus Orchestra.

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AVglov (Jeff Glovsky)

[ ... is an Audio-Visual technician / operator with a corporate event services skill set and background in live music and sound mixing.  He is a regional events director with Global Music Project®, and a freelance photographer and raw image / content provider.  His portfolio of idiosyncratic Photo(s) by Jglo can be seen on Behance, and across the ongoing "Lo-Fi Project" on Tumblr and WordPress. ]

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LinkedIn (U.S.)

Dividing his time between New York City and Munich, Germany, J(eff) Glovsky is a corporate event services and executive travel consultant, as well as a boating enthusiast and yacht and private jet charter partner.

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If You Dig

S U P P O R T  n  J O I N

(Blue) Noted Passing

"I don't care much about music.  What I like is sounds." - Dizzy Gillespie

"Clouds float in the same pattern only once." - Wayne Shorter

"When people believe in boundaries, they become part of them." - Don Cherry

"Play what you want and let the public pick up on what you are doing, even if it takes them fifteen or twenty years." - Thelonious Monk

"Don't play the saxophone.  Let it play you." - Charlie Parker

"I'll play it and tell you what it is later." - Miles Davis

"You can have tone and technique and a lot of other things but without originality, you ain't really nowhere."

Lester Young

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Without being hip to the fact at the time, each of the cats quoted above, in his own way, blew a eulogy for Ornette Coleman.

Ornette was "out".  He was different.  He 'couldn't play', yet "rewrote the language of jazz" (no small feat in a musical landscape of perpetual innovation (once), and the ethereal dissipation of improvised note bursts nightly, on a 'moment's notice').  Maynard Ferguson thought O.C. had "bad intonation, bad technique".  Miles Davis, judging by the sounds Ornette's axe made, concluded that "talking psychologically", he must be "all screwed up inside."  Another trumpeter (oddly), Roy Eldridge, thought Ornette Coleman was "jiving, baby."  And even kindred free musical spirit, Thelonious Monk, likewise known for "playing wrong right", was heard to exclaim, "Man, that cat is nuts!".

One of the few who seemed to 'get' Ornette was Charlie Mingus, who, another kindred musical spirit, was able to recognize the "organized disorganization" of Coleman's (non)playing ... yet at some point complained, "he can't play it straight."

Now as everyone acknowledges, and some admit (vehemently), there is a lot of jazz garbage out there.  There are the Spoogers, just gacking out notes for no reason ... the Noodlers, annoyingly poking, inserting ... the Vocalists (most of them), entirely disrespecting the "songbooks" they pillage (not to mention audiences' time, patience, money) ... There are literally people "performing" who shouldn't be.

"Hell is full of musical amateurs."  - George Bernard Shaw

I myself am no musician.  I don't capably play any instruments (yet?  One of my biggest regrets in life, so far), and I'm no authority.  But I do know well and appreciate jazz:  its humor, its sense of chaos, its combustible spontaneity ... and above all, its take it or leave it, 'is what it is' ethos, too often exploited because, Hey! It's Jazz!

"Jazz is the type of music that can absorb so many things & still be Jazz."- Sonny Rollins

... For better or worse.

Unlike many (rabid) fans of the genre, I am not hagiographic.

But I don't get the sense that Ornette Coleman was spooging (or noodling, or ever "jiving").  I think he was onto something bigger than jazz ... Not only taking the invisible music -- silences and "mistakes" -- received and famously transmitted by Monk, to inevitable next levels (albeit on every tune!) ... but also culturally prescient, in foreshadowing our present day aversion to "labels" - to being labelled, (mis)categorized, (mis)identified ... this rejection of easy, or 'normal', classifications, indeed a 'shape of jazz to come';

and in being cool with imperfections -- perhaps, limitations -- yet rightfully expecting to be accepted, at least heard.

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"It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something."

"I think that every person, whether they play music or don't play music, has a sound - their own sound, that thing that you're talking about." - Ornette Coleman
1930 - 2015

Are You Hearing Me?

For many years, I have had the good fortune to be a live sound engineer - mixing bands that can play actual musical instruments ... so that I, as any actual live "sound engineer" should be able to do, can discern between the varied sounds and tones of each instrument (the human "vox" included) ... as opposed to, say, sitting behind a computer (a digital sound console) and lazily babysitting "presets" (watching the faders zoom up and down together).

writes Mr. Nice Legz

As any self-respecting musician (or opinionated windbag in the business) will tell you, there is nothing worse than a lazy sound guy.

That said, there are clearly advantages to going digital in a live sound environment.  Because digital processing is self-contained -- that is, all of the effects, equalization, compression, etc., can be accessed from within the sound console itself -- there is no longer any need for racks, and stacks of "outboard" gear cluttering the tech. table or mixing area ... so when babysitting digital presets myself, I can at least put my feet up.

Once I was doing this hotel gig, and we started discussing the lunch that was going to be served that day.  As we were finishing breakfast, waiting for the morning's first presentation ... the in-house sound guy I was working with blurted, "Salmon!  Never been much of a salmon guy.  Just give me a nice piece of friggin' swordfish!"

And then he fell mountainously asleep at the sound board.

See, that's what I'm talking about!

That's the main difference between analog and digital audio mixing.  It's apples and oranges ... salmon and swordfish!

Going Down

It could've been me again ... sort of.

On September 11, 2001, I happened not to be working audio-visual with the Windows on the World team at 1 World Trade Center ... in the North Tower, up on the 106th floor there, where I'd arrive for freelance gigs fairly regularly, and in fact, just completed one two days prior.

Now yesterday, as I'm holed up in a Starbucks, waiting for an afternoon appointment to show, the ground shakes ... a terrible BOOM rents the (terrible) day ... and the entire store pours onto the New York sidewalk, cell phones raised, Instagram at the ready ...

I'm literally the only one left inside.  Not deigning to join all the show business kids falling over themselves not to feel, but to transmit, a unique experience -- letting it wash over and past them, instead of sinking in and through -- I help myself to a blueberry muffin, snap a few photos of billowing smoke and walk north, uptown, to get away from it all.

Then Germanwings ... German things, in general (prosaically speaking) do not tend to fail.  There is pride in the ranks of the Mittelstandes ... the industrial middle class ... engine and backbone of Europe's standout economy.

Pride.  Perfection.  Precision ... macht frei.  All the trains are on time, I can ride with my phone ... I never once worry about scalding myself, under an electronic showerhead, with temperature exactitudes to a quarter-degree Celsius (!), whenever I'm scrubbing myself in München.

I've never once boarded a plane in Germany -- or more precisely, a German airline -- and needed to worry about being delayed, bumped, cancelled (Hundewetter notwithstanding) or otherwise inconvenienced ... or frankly, pissed off by the attitudes of lazy, bored, undertrained, overwhelmed workers.  There are no such, pathetically flailing in Germany.  Instead, for the most part -- though, in all honesty, with increasing exception -- there is PRIDE still:  in work performed well; services capably rendered.

Some of this dichotomy, I imagine, is generational - There tends to be an older, more loyal, established and responsible workforce in Germany, so things run efficiently:  with experience, common sense and allowances for dignity ... as compared to the soullessly fearful, pig-headed and/or nonsensical service sectors of other places, the U.S. in particular.

Some seemingly glaring differences in attitude, though, I acknowledge, just might be imagined.  For example, I speak almost kein Deutsch ... I can't really know for certain who's slacking, who's beefing, who's grousing about work or their shitty day ... and I can't respond anyway, if I do get pissed off.  In Germany, I'm forced more to swallow nonsense, perhaps ...

But generally (prosaically) speaking, German things don't tend to fall from the sky.  When I heard the news yesterday that Germanwings co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, intentionally flew Flight 9525 into a mountain, it first came as a relief to me:  It wasn't terrorism.  This one was not a small battle in World War III ... At least that.

It didn't come as a surprise, though.  In the scope of things, given Germany's overall track record for efficiency and manufacturing efficacy, something was wrong (German things don't just fall out of the sky) ... The crash of Germanwings Flt. 9525 could only have been intentional, I thought.

Lo and behold ...

“Wings & Prayers”, ©Jeff Glovsky

(re)Tired Images

photos no longer used online here

Audio / Vi(m)eo

Photo(s) by Jglo

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Fearless Failure

Whenever a gig folds, I expand ...

I wrote that twenty-some years ago, in a fit of exhaltation, having been sent home from a nice-paying job because -- as it was put to me -- my bright, loud '90s tie was too wide.  I think there may have been stars all over it.  I remember a guy I worked with bursting out into "Star Man" -- this tremulous, pitch-perfect Bowie noise -- whenever he saw me throughout that day.  We laughed about it ... Me calling him "Ziggy" ... Me laughing not with, but at myself ... and then my gig folded.

I got sent home.

Looking back, it's doubtful my neckwear was the (only) problem.  Perhaps I was bored.  A bit understimulated ... I was working in a hotel environment, where customer service and propriety were the norms.  Probably singing "Ballroom has broken", loudly -- this excellent, tremulous Bowie noise! -- to the tune of "Morning Has Broken", or barking gibberish in German, didn't help back then with the overall perception of me as a qualified, team-oriented AV professional (nor one with a full set of crayons in the box, for that matter!).

... I got sent home.

That paled, though, in comparison to being called up by an employer on New Year's Eve once, after work, and being bluntly informed that that day had been my last ... The subsequent year getting off to a flying stop, as I lay on the floor of New York's Port Authority bus station, waiting for daylight on January 1st, and my wife to return from upstate with our house keys.

There are several -- nay, hundreds -- of other examples, of me and misfortune caressing each other ... Each time, with each failure, and each lesson learned, there's potential, resolve not to get it wrong next time!

There are realizations, and steely damn insights, and fury ... Self-loathings with each new awareness...

But work-wise, I've learned it comes down to this:  If the job doesn't fit you, you really should quit.

If the job don't fit, you gotta quit.

If you're in a rut and it doesn't feel right ... bored to wit's end, and you're understimulated ... Singing songs to pass the time, or acting foolish through discomfort -- You don't feel you belong, so you're creating discomfiture -- it's time to assess.  Call timeout, and if necessary, take yourself out of the game.

Don't wait to be benched.  Or, for your gig to be folded ...

Take a deep breath.  Expand.

Be exhalted ...

Conversations

"Conversant"

"Conversant 2"

"Conversant 3"

"Talkin' 'Bout a Bike"

(Some) Musical Influences

"A-B Road"

"Liam"

"Integration Blue(s)"

"Disraeli Geared"

"Sunday Morning"

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"Walk on the Wild Side", ©Jeff Glovsky

Moving Pictures

Don't Click

and Drive ...

"Night Drive (Bridge)", ©Jeff Glovsky

(Audio-) VISUELL

You are being watched.

Your movements, actions are recorded .... Chased and captured, space and time ... Pasted, cut up, posted up on places, Facebook!  Websites you don't know or use.

You move freely ... But you're seen.  You are collected, grouped and categorized, followed and recognized by eyes unseen ... Obscene!

But I like to keep things light between us ... When I follow you with eyes unseen, I blur the lines.  I don't name names, or "tag" or claim to be your "friend" ... but I watch too.

You're being seen.

Jeff Glovsky.net - VISUELL

It's Out There ...

New York scenes, night / skyline dreams, reflections, shady image(s) ... 

Photos by Jglo

on Tumblr

on WordPress

(on Wisconsin)

Stolen, Caught, Captured

The Lo-Fi Project

In September 2013, I began the Second Set photo blog on WordPress.  Continuing where the ‘first set’ of 500 Photos by Jglo left off, Jeff Glovsky: The Second Set, has been a wordless “timeline” of perceptions, moods, seasons and occasional travel … together, with its predecessor on Tumblr, over the course of nearly a year.

"Goodbye", ©Jeff Glovsky

Winter Mood(s) II

“Tundric Technicolor”, ©Jeff Glovsky

“Winter Landscape”, ©Jeff Glovsky

“Lunar (New Year)”, ©Jeff Glovsky

“Heat Loss”, ©Jeff Glovsky

“Afterglow”, ©Jeff Glovsky

December's Children

A big and special Danke to some dedicated 'likers':

M. Funk FineArt // Photography

seedbud (Leaf and Twig)

Ming Wang Photography

Leanne Cole Photography

Thank you for checking out and checking into, regularly liking ...

Jahr, Dude!

Bild The Year

"Black and White", ©Jeff Glovsky

2014 Custom Calendars / individuellen Kalendern

November (Renewal)

"November", ©Jeff Glovsky

Fall Forward

“October”, ©Jeff Glovsky