AFM Local 47 was pleased to host the 2019 AFM Western Conference of Locals, where officers and delegates from AFM Locals in the western United States and Canadian provinces gathered to review common issues and organize for the upcoming AFM Convention. Continue reading
Negotiations between the AFM and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) begin on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. We’re taking on the most important aspect of the future of the recording industry: new media and streaming services.
Musicians working in all areas of the business are encouraged to attend these important contract negotiations that will affect all of us. Watch the video message from the AFM Local 47 Executive Board, and sign up below to stay informed on important updates and to RSVP to attend negotiations on March 13:
Member. Drum Set
8/13/1932 – 11/1/2018
Love of music and family were the driving forces during Danny Pucillo’s 86 years of life.
Born and raised in Mt. Vernon, New York, he originally wanted to play the trumpet. However, at the age of 10, his mother took him to the Strand Theatre in New York City, and once he saw the indelible image of Gene Krupa playing his signature floor tom beat, extending up on the fine white projection screen, he was captivated by the mastery of what Krupa had played. Danny knew he had to become a drummer. Continue reading
Twenty years after its premiere, the great American musical “Ragtime” returned to L.A. in a run at the Pasadena Playhouse January 28 through March 3, 2019. Continue reading
Former Member. Trumpet
5/19/1929 – 1/5/2019
by Kirk Silbee
Ralph Jungheim, a record producer, impresario, photographer and an all-around friend to jazz, has died. He oversaw 58 albums as an independent producer for such artists as Earl “Fatha” Hines, Freddie Hubbard, Ruth Brown, Joe Pass, Michel Legrand, Jimmy Rowles, Freddy Cole, Jimmy Witherspoon, Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All Stars, Jack Sheldon, Wild Bill Davison and Eddie Miller, Jackie Allen, Dr. Bobby Rodriguez, Bill Berry’s Ellington All-Stars, Charles Neville, Tommy Newsom, Mavis Rivers, James Zollar and John Dentz. Jungheim passed away on January 5, due to complications of a longtime illness. Continue reading
Copies of the 2019 Local 47 Member Directory are out now!
These books are published annually and made available exclusively to members upon request as a free member benefit.
Pick one up at the union or request a copy by filling out the form below or by calling 323.462.2161.
We have a very serious problem in Los Angeles, and there’s a certain project that’s on all our minds: Magic Johnson’s Super Bowl ad.
The music for this commercial was recorded non-union, by CMG. If the gig were union, these musicians would have been paid for the session, the airing of the ad on TV and internet, benefits, and sidelining. If this gig were union the musicians would have earned $933.82. Instead, the musicians were paid a paltry $175 in a buyout deal. Continue reading
Former Member. Trombone
2/12/1924 – 1/25/2019
Ray Victor, musician, actor, lyricist and writer passed January 25, 2019. Ray was born Ray Moreno Vasquez February 12, 1924. He was 94 years old, and two weeks shy of 95. Continue reading
John Williams (left) and Gustavo Dudamel (right) shared the stage during an intimate concert series at Disney Hall in January 2019. [photos by Linda A. Rapka/AFM Local 47]
I read the glowing review by Mark Swed of the first night of the Celebration of John Williams in the Times last month, and was moved to have a personal kind of celebration; of knowing John Williams, from our time in Tucson in the 775th Air Force band, through my time as Union VP and President, when I presented both John Williams and Steven Spielberg a commemorative plaque on behalf of Musicians Local 47 at a scoring session of 105 players. The plaques were inscribed with our Local 47 musicians’ thanks for consistently scoring their films here in Hollywood, and thereby using our musicians in the resulting scoring processes. Mr. Spielberg told me at that time that he was genuinely touched by this recognition. Continue reading
Minister, activist, civil rights leader, visionary — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was many things during his all-too-short life. In addition to being all these things, Dr. King was also a huge admirer of jazz music; so much so, in fact, that he was invited to write the forward for the first annual Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964. Continue reading