Live People Ensemble

Live People Ensemble is a conceptual jazz ensemble from Moscow, Russia, that delights jazz lovers with original compositions by the ensemble's frontwoman Natalia Skvortsova and the rest of the band members, as well as original arrangements of jazz standards.

The chosen niche and the musical potential of the material performed by the ensemble have such a wide range that it simply does not fit into any of the known musical categories. Being at the forefront of jazz music, one of the goals set by Natalia Skvortsova and her colleagues is to create a new musical layer of Russian improvisational music based on the latest achievements of modern jazz, classical, rock, folk, and experimental trends.

The quartet consists of some of the most in-demand and experienced musicians in Moscow jazz; each of them, in turn, is both a session musician and a bandleader in their own bands.

Natalia Skvortsova is a well-known pianist, composer, and arranger on the Moscow music scene, a graduate of the Moscow State University of Culture, and a member and co-author of ensembles such as Post-Jazz Trio, Fusion Port, and InNa. She has collaborated with artists such as Asketics, Mir Station, Make Elis, Clone, Sergey Manukyan, Mikhail Volokhov, Pavel Protasov, Dmitry Mospan, Anton Konchakov, Sergey Krasnopolsky, and Artyom Mikhailov. She is also a regular participant in Russian music festivals such as Pustye Kholmy, Usadba Jazz, Gnessin Jazz, Mamakabo, and others.

Yuri Sevastyanov is a saxophonist and composer, a student at the Gnessin Academy of Music, as well as a participant in many Russian and international jazz festivals (Usadba Jazz, Jazz in the Hermitage Garden, Gnessin Jazz). He is the winner of the competition "The Voice of the Saxophone in the Modern World" in the category "For Creative Individuality" and the leader of another jazz quartet.

Yuri Galkin is a double bassist, composer, and bandleader (Yuriy Galkin Nonet), and a graduate of the Gnessin Academy of Music, as well as the Royal Academy of Music in London. Over the years of his life in the UK, he has played at the most prestigious venues in the country with musicians such as the Abram Wilson Quartet, the Gerard Presencer Band, Binker Golding Projects, Andrey Kondakov, Wycliffe Gordon, Reggie Thomas, Alvin Atkinson, Nigel Kennedy, and many others. He is the winner of special prizes such as The Dankworth Composition Prize 2010 and Tim Garland's Prize. Yuri and his own band are permanent residents of international clubs such as Pizza Express Jazz Club, The Stables Theatre, and many others.

Peter Talalai is a drummer and bandleader (Pret Ensemble), a graduate of the Gnessin Academy of Music. He has collaborated with such musicians as Paul Winter, Walter Smith III, Eyal Maoz, Evgeny Lebedev, Alexey Kruglov, Vladimir Chekasin, Alexander Rostotsky, Herman Lukyanov, Yuri Markin, Igor Butman, and many other Russian jazz artists.