Jason Moran & Christian McBride Proteges Featured in PBS Special This Friday

Premiering this Friday, April 21 at 10 p.m. ET, this new installment of NEXT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER, a series from PBS's multi-year collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Jason Moran and Christian McBride are partnering together at the Kennedy Center for an electrifying performance elevating the jazz tradition.

Modern jazz luminaries Moran (piano) and McBride (bass) perform music by Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Geri Allen, and Louis Armstrong in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Taking inspiration from America's diverse artistic landscape, their collaboration is infused with a distinctive soul that illuminates their reverence of the past and commitment to making every note feel relevant to modern times.

The award-winning musicians also entertain with stories about their legendary teachers and introduce their remarkable protégés - pianist/composer Sequoia "REDWOOD" Snyder and bassist Liany Mateo.

A musician, producer, composer, and recording artist, REDWOOD was born Sequoia Snyder in Washington D,C., 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 entering the prestigiousDuke Ellington School of the Arts as a vocal major.

But she became enamored with the piano as a freshman and switched 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 the contemporary vibes of jazz and other Black genres with stunning individuality and sophistication.

She had a banner year in 2022, including performing 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.

Liany Mateo has traveled across North America, Japan, Africa, and the Middle East performing, touring, and teaching music. Influenced by a mix of hard-hitting straight-ahead swing, free avant-garde, and deep pocket groove, Mateo is a chameleon, fitting into diverse musical situations.

You can find her playing all over New York City at a variety of venues including Birdland Jazz Club, The Django, The Jazz Gallery, and other notable performance spaces. Most recently, she became a member of the Grammy Award-winning "Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra" led by the esteemed Arturo O'Farrill. She has performed with musicians such as Geoffrey Keezer, Fay Victor, Carl Allen, and Brandee Younger.

In January 2020 she was awarded the Jack Rudin ``Outstanding Bass Solo'' award at Jazz at Lincoln Center's first collegiate Jazz competition adjudicated by Wynton Marsalis and Ron Carter. She holds a Jazz degree from the esteemed Michigan State University (2020) and a master's degree from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute (2021).

Through these institutions, she has been mentored by Jazz giants Rodney Whitaker and Linda May Han Oh.