The Medicare 7, 8, or 9 Dixieland Cooperative Band was formed by Dan Perrino during a period of unprecedented student unrest at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (UIUC) in 1969.�? Perrino, then Dean of Student Programs and Services and a former professor of music at UIUC, gathered together a group of faculty to play jazz in the student union to help ease the tensions between the campus' students and faculty.�? Perrino chose to have the band perform its first concert in the University's Illini Union South Lounge, a gathering place for activist-minded students, in order to provide a common music experience that the faculty and students alike could enjoy.�? Eventually the band was named Medicare 7, 8, or 9�? as a humorous reference to the wide range of its membership's ages and the diverse number of performers that frequently played for each concert.�? For over thirty years the band was recognized as a beloved community institution that played for alumni and campus events, community organizations throughout Illinois, Illinois governors, and nationally-televised football games.
From the guide to the Medicare 7, 8, or 9 Dixieland Cooperative Band Records, 1966-2000, (The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music)
