Every April, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. selects a jazz icon to feature on the annual Jazz Appreciation Month poster. This year’s poster honors performer, bandleader, and
composer “King” Benny Carter.
A Lifetime Member of Local 47, Benny Carter — known simply as “King” to his fellow musicians — was a largely self-taught artist who became one of founding fathers of big band swing music. Early in his career, Carter arranged and composed scores for Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, and McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, as well as for his own highly respected orchestras. Continue reading



If you or your children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP and even if you are eligible for health coverage from your employer – in our case, the Professional Musicians, Local 47, and Employers’ Health & Welfare Fund (the “Fund”) – your state may have a premium assistance program that can help pay for your children’s coverage, using funds from the that State’s Medicaid or CHIP programs. If you or your children aren’t eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, you won’t be eligible for these premium assistance programs but, nonetheless, you may be able to buy them (and yourself, if you have not qualified for coverage through the Fund) individual insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. For more information, visit 




