Natasha Wood, songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, has created music ever since her parents gave her a toy piano for her 3rd birthday. One of her favorite childhood pastimes was visiting the West Los Angeles recording studio belonging to her grandfather, record producer Randy Wood, who founded the Dot Records label in 1950. Coming from a musically-inclined Brazilian family on her mom’s side, Natasha was surrounded by the sounds of great samba, bossa nova and MPB legends like Beth Carvalho, Gal Costa, and Antônio Carlos Jobim. Simultaneously, her family exposed her to old school R&B, 70s singer-songwriters, and Broadway musicals, and she would often accompany them to hear her uncle, jazz pianist John Wood, gig with his trio around L.A. Fifteen years of classical piano training found her drawn to the lush harmonies and rhythms of the romantic, impressionist, and ragtime eras. Natasha’s passion for creative writing and international travel intensified, giving her a new musical perspective. She began composing her own songs, which are a unique blend of samba, bossa nova, jazz, folk, and world music styles that tell stories through poetic and inventive lyrics.
While her career path took her into the field of veterinary medicine, Natasha continued to immerse herself in music projects, choirs, music theory, and vocal performance courses. Her original song “Fennecus” was written as a final class project while studying jazz theory under Tom Ranier at UCLA. The song would define a new direction in her songwriting, evoking something familiar yet exotic, jazzy, and a bit Brazilian, while telling a story of love and loss, transporting the listener to a distant land. Natasha’s compositions celebrate the people and animals that have impacted her life. While her songs are deeply personal, listeners can easily relate them to their own experiences. Having traveled in Latin America, Africa, South Asia, Europe, and the South Pacific, she met musicians along the way, and many diverse elements found their way into her music. Natasha’s songs are ever changing as she carves out a new and exciting musical niche. Her debut solo album entitled “Part of Me” is scheduled for release this year. Currently, she can be heard performing at venues in and around her hometown of Los Angeles. Natasha divides her time between making music and working as a shelter veterinarian who cares for homeless and unwanted pets of every size, shape, and form.