Ángel Ontalva & Vespero - Sada (2020) {Limited Edition}

Sada is the second studio collaboration between Spanish guitarist Ángel Ontalva and beloved Russian space-prog-jazz-psych geniuses Vespero. The two previously broke ground on 2018’s ‘Carta Marina,’ which in turn led to the live album ‘Sea Orm Liventure’ before this latest work. Clearly, they have a good thing going, and they bring out the best in each other. I strongly recommend ALL of these albums. Ontalva and Vespero make a superb combination. Their works - all instrumental - remind me a great deal of Mahavishnu Orchestra. So kindle your inner mounting flame and come along for the ride.

Ontalva is a gifted, passionate composer and guitarist. He’s also a very talented artist, his work including Sada’s cover art. Although the guys knew each other from mutual R.A.I.G. records days, it was actually an Ontalva art exhibition in Vespero’s home town of Astrakhan that finally led to their first sessions and the Carta Marina album. Vespero shows great versatility in adapting their sound for Ontalva. What we hear is a bit less spacy and more prog for them. But since we are talking about musical virtuosos each and every one, they are fully up to the challenge. And it definitely contains their trademark musical thrill rides through musical peaks, valleys and hairpin turns.

It proved to be somewhat of the “difficult second album” (as a collaborating team at least). I was a bit surprised to see that revelation from members of Vespero, masters of some extremely complex music. But according to bass and synth player Ark Fedotov, more of the music on Sada is composed by Ontalva than the group improvisation-based Carta Marina. It is deeply personal music for Ontalva, straight from the heart and soul, and required Vespero to go outside their comfort zone.

I mentioned Mahavishnu Orchestra, but there are also moments that sound like Steve Hackett on ‘Selling England by the Pound’ or “Los Endos” from ‘A Trick of the Tail.’ And when you think a track is mellow jazz, it will veer off into high-paced prog. Or when you’re settled into a prog-based passage, Vespero just might launch you back into outer space to ponder the cosmos, with Ontalva zigging and zagging the damn ship with an impassioned jazz guitar lead.

Everyone here is firing on all cylinders instrumentally. Ontalva is a brilliant, emotional guitarist who can combine technical virtuosity with soul and passion. Vespero uses what I call their “secret weapon,” violinist Vitaly Borodin. Every time Borodin enters the picture, he lifts up the song to the skies and beyond, casting his warm glow of light on the melody. There are some priceless little moments of Borodin on violin and guitarists Ontalva and Vespero’s Alexander Kuzolvlev playing off one another (“Theme for Sada,” “Futari Kiri”). The rhythm section of the Fedotov brothers, Ark on bass and Ivan on drums, generates tremendous power, with Ivan’s drumming especially more dynamic than ever. Keyboard player Alexey Klabukov expertly fills in spaces in this guitar-dominated album.

My favorite track is the finale, “Futari Kiri.” It’s a real tour-de-force, full of light and shade, with all sorts of eddies and currents, with everybody contributing his best. Sada is a tremendous work of style and energy, with Ángel Ontalva and Vespero contributing visions of jazz and prog mastery. It’s a bountiful guitar lover’s dream, inscribed equally by brush strokes of colorful starbursts and inner journeys. Long may they continue their musical paintings.

~ Mark Feingold