Rafael Toral’s Spectral Evolution, which was voted No 2 in The Wire’s Releases of the Year chart, marked the Portuguese composer’s return to the DIY electronic devices that powered his Space Program series, and to the electric guitar of his 1990s work. The record embraced rich textures and jazz harmonies, leading Bill Meyer to summarise it in The Wire 482 as a “multi-hued, episodic suite”.

Here, Toral curates a mix of tracks that have been informing his approach to the guitar more recently, and inserts what he describes as “a few surprises, to skew the perspective and also bring some connection to the roots of Spectral Evolution”.

Tracklist

Kenny Burrell “Blues In The Night”
Rafael Toral “Modulated Feedback 1”
Kenny Burrell “Since I Fell For You”
Joe Pass “Shadow Waltz”
Jim Hall & Ron Carter “Prelude To A Kiss”
Joe Pass “Joe’s Blues”
Ed Bickert & Don Thompson “Please Be Kind”
Kenny Burrell “If You Could See Me Now”
Herb Ellis & Remo Palmier “Stardust”
Herb Ellis & Remo Palmier “My Foolish Heart”
Rafael Toral “I.IV”
Joe Pass “When Your Lover Has Gone”
Joe Pass “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”
Wes Montgomery “West Coast Blues”
Rafael Toral “Milky Ways Intro”