"nimby"
press release - november 4, 2022


“nimby” is a commissioned work from jazz musician and educator, Amanda Addleman. The Marin County chapter of the Awesome Foundation, recognized Addleman’s unique perspective as an educator in Marin County as well as her background as a jazz composer/performer, and commissioned the work as a means to shed light on the incessant but sometimes obfuscated racism in the county. Addleman’s provocative composition paints a picture of the experience of young BIPOC students living in Marin County (Addleman’s home county), through spoken word accounts of racism told by local students. The painfully true stories are vulnerable, heroic, and eye-opening descriptions of what students face on a day to day basis just growing up in the area.

The recording features an all-star cast of Bay Area musicians including Kasey Knudsen on alto sax, Jayme Brown on vocals, Caroline Chung on upright bass, Jae Stix on drums, and Addleman herself on keyboards. Recorded in the last months of the Covid-19 lockdown in early 2021, the musicians recorded remotely in their homes to collaborate on this piece.

The piece itself is written in the African American/Black American tradition of Jazz and features fiery instrumental playing and deeply rooted, passionate vocals from Brown singing the mantra of the piece “not in my backyard” interspersed with Knudsen’s intense and soulful sax lines. The repeated mantra expresses the duality of the phrase as it exists in Marin County which is expanded by the powerful voices of Marin’s youth. Individuals largely vote progressively nationally and within the state, but plant themselves firmly in a community known for it’s historic red-lining, segregated cities, and lack of awareness and acknowledgement of the existence of white supremacy and racism in their own backyard. The piece explores the space between the boastful good intentions of the people and the persistent failure to promote systematic and systemic change. “We love all people, but don’t want them in our backyard,” as well as, “Sure racism exists somewhere, but not in my backyard. That doesn’t happen here, not in Marin! We vote blue.”

Addleman is committed to furthering racial equity and social justice in Marin County and beyond. She seeks to support access to music education for students from all backgrounds and to work toward changing racist, white supremacist “norms” of music education. She believes students of color are an asset to our communities and should be allowed to shine and thrive. She hopes this piece provides a small vignette into the lives of these Marin County students and why anti-racist education, critical race theory and police/SRO abolition are of the utmost importance and urgency, particularly in this community.

Addleman, a Marin County native, is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Jazz Arts from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City under the tutelage of modern jazz giants Theo Bleckmann, Jeremy Manasia, Phil Markowitz, and Ingrid Jensen. She has been an educator and performer for more than 20 years. Her music is on streaming services and bandcamp. For more information and performance schedule please visit www.amandaaddleman.com