REDWOOD is a musician, composer, producer, educator, DJ, and recording artist native to Washington D.C. Having recently completed her graduate studies at Michigan State University, REDWOOD has been mentored by jazz legends such as Rodney Whitaker and Dee Dee Bridgewater, and is a protege of the boundary-bursting artist Jason Moran. She has performed with esteemed musicians such as Kenny Barron, Cory Henry, and even Afrobeats star CKay and popular R&B band The Internet. Already distinguished as a musician, she showcases her vocal and production abilities in her debut album, “Red 2 Go.”
A musician, producer, composer, and recording artist, REDWOOD was born Sequoia Snyder in Washington DC but spent her early childhood in Fort Myers, Florida. She was heavily influenced by gospel, R&B, hip-hop funk, soul, and pop music while growing up. Upon returning to DC at 10 years old, she began singing and eventually entered the prestigious Duke Ellington School of the Arts as a vocal major.
But she became enamored with the piano as a freshman and changed her major, swiftly becoming an accomplished performer and leader. REDWOOD earned tremendous opportunities at Ellington, including performances with legendary artists like Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, Terell Stafford, and DeeDee Bridgewater.
A 2021 graduate of the Jazz Studies program at Michigan State University, REDWOOD has been mentored by esteemed musicians like Rodney Whitaker, Jason Moran, Etienne Charles, and Diego Rivera, blending contemporary jazz and other Black genres with sophisticated individuality. In 2022, she performed with international Afrobeat star CKay in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and The Roots Picnic in Philadelphia. She also performed with Teri Lynne Carrington, Patrice Rushen, and Jazzmeia Horn, as a Geri Allen Gathering Orchestra Fellow, and appeared with the New York City Ballet.
REDWOOD’s multimedia piece on Black joy, “Delight,” won the Most Inspiring Performance Art Award at MSU’s 2021 Social Justice Festival. She won the Outstanding Piano award at the Lincoln Center’s Jack Rudin Jazz Competition in 2020, and later performed alongside Kenny Barron and Cory Henry at NPR’s annual “A Jazz Piano Christmas” program. Her musical endeavors in 2019 included selection for the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency; JAS Aspen Snowmass Academy (directed by Christian McBride); and DeeDee Bridgewater’s pilot program for emerging women musicians, The Woodshed Network.
In December 2018, REDWOOD won an Instagram competition for musicians to accompany The Internet on a national tour. She performed with the popular R&B band at its show in Detroit, where she’s among the city’s young lions in music. She was recently featured nationally by PBS as a protege of jazz legend Jason Moran.
REDWOOD has headlined Detroit’s legendary Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, and Ann Arbor’s Blue Llama Jazz Club and Kerrytown Concert House. Other appearances around Michigan include “Black Women Rock,” with the renowned Jessica Care Moore, as well as the Detroit Jazz Festival, Cliff Bell’s, and Blue Llama Jazz Club.
Neither REDWOOD nor her music fits neatly into conventional boxes. Her originality shines through in her 2019 EP “Sempervirens.” Already distinguished as a musician, she went beyond the keys in her debut album, “Red 2 Go,” showcasing her vocal and production abilities. The 8-track mini-project received praise in publications such as Earmilk, Stereofox, and NUNAR magazine. Recent singles include the bouncy “Dub,” with rising vocalist Ekep Nkwelle, and “Nana,” a jazz tribute to her great-grandmother.
At just 25 years old, REDWOOD has covered remarkable ground in a short period of time, with plans to go much farther.
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