Category Archives: Features
2017 Academy Awards: At long last, musicians get their due
The 89th Annual Academy Awards telecast is one to be remembered — and not just for the Best Picture snafu.
In the Oscar’s 64 years of being televised, every single person who worked on the production has been listed in the end credits — that is, except for musicians.
That changed this year, when the names of all the live orchestra musicians were listed on the end crawl. Continue reading
Member Spotlight: Marcy A. Sudock
Musique Sur La Mer music director blends artistry with advocacy
by Linda A. Rapka
After years of watching music programs in schools dwindle town to almost nothing in her neighborhood of Long Beach, Marcy A. Sudock set out to do something about it.
Partnering with a local neighborhood youth center in 2001, she founded the Musique Sur La Mer Orchestras, a nonprofit orchestra group serving every level of musical performance starting with musicians as young as 7 years old. In an effort to build up music programs in public schools, which often limit students to one or two electives, as a contingency to join MSLM students must also be enrolled in their school’s music program. Continue reading
Musicians welcome Congresswoman Judy Chu at Political Town Hall
At our Presidents Day Town Hall the evening of Feb. 20, 2017, musicians welcomed an excellent panel to discuss healthcare, labor rights, tax credits for musicians, and arts education and funding.
Guest panelists were Congresswoman Judy Chu, RMA President Marc Sazer, ICSOM President Meredith Snow, composer/arranger and Secretary of Americans for Democratic Action Cliff Tasner, and WGA-W Political Director Corri Freedman. Members asked insightful questions about where the greatest threats would come from, and about how we could do effective advocacy.
BlackMusic, BlackWork exhibit launches in Leimert Park
Photo: Linda A. Rapka
Leimert Park lit up the night of February 23, 2017, at the exhibition opening of BlackMusic, BlackWork.
Presented in conjunction with the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, UCLA Labor Center, the exhibit shares the dynamic history of organizing in the arts spans the founding of the Black musicians union Local 767 in the 1920s to the contemporary struggles of working musicians who understand the transformative power of art and culture.
Special guests speakers included AFM Local 47 President John Acosta, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, LA County Federation of Labor Rusty Hicks, Los Angeles Black Worker Center Co-founder Lola Smallwood Cuevas and member Andrene Scott, and Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley, Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA. Black Worker Center member Patsy Howard served as MC. Continue reading
Big Jay McNeely: ‘King of the Honkers’ Still Going Strong
Photo: courtesy of Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely made some of the biggest waves on the 1940s R&B scene with his screaming tenor sax
As one of the titans who made tenor sax the solo instrument of choice during rock’s primordial era in the late 1940s, Big Jay McNeely could peel the paper right off the walls with his sheets of squealing, honking horn riffs. “The king of the honkers” has been wailing hard for over seven decades, and he’s still going strong. Continue reading
Remembering David Axelrod
Photo by B Plus, courtesy of Dana Axelrod
On Feb. 5, 2017, composer, arranger and producer David Axelrod, whose work has been sampled by several of the biggest names in hip hop, passed away at the age of 83.
This interview with Linda A. Rapka was originally published in the May 2011 issue of the AFM Local 47 Overture newspaper.
A golden producer in the heyday of Capitol Records, David Axelrod lent his magic to hit jazz, funk and soul records of the 1960s and ’70s. He churned out a succession of gold records and top singles with artists including Lou Rawls, Cannonball Adderley and the Electric Prunes, and his signature sound is a sampling favorite of today’s hip hop artists. His keen eye for spotting unlikely successes garnered him a lasting imprint on some of the most eccentric albums of the era. Sailor-mouthed and charmingly surly, Axelrod minces no words about his improbable highs and cavernous lows during six decades in the industry. Continue reading
Los Angeles Honors Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
L.A. County Fed Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rusty Hicks, keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson, Senator Kamala Harris, Supervisor Hilda Solis, and SEIU 2015 President Laphonza Butler. (Photo: Monica Almeida, The Newspaper Guild)
On Saturday, January 14, 2017, nearly 1,000 community and labor leaders and elected officials gathered for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast hosted by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
Held at the Westin Bonaventure downtown, the event kicked off with an address by newly elected United States Senator Kamala Harris. Sen. Harris has not only been a champion for California’s working families, but she has been a leader in reducing recidivism and providing tools to re-enter back into civilian life. Continue reading
2016 Roundup: Films & TV shows scored in Los Angeles
Kudos to all the talented AFM Local 47 Los Angeles musicians involved in scoring these motion picture and TV shows released in 2016! Continue reading
Congrats 2017 Oscar nominees!
Congratulations to all of the talented AFM Local 47 Los Angeles musicians, composers and music prep personnel who worked on this year’s Oscar-nominated projects! Continue reading