The programme features a cycle of ten original songs in Portuguese, composed specifically for this ensemble. At the heart of this musical universe lies the intimate relationship between melody and words, a defining element of Pedro Emanuel Pereira’s artistic practice since his earliest works, which here finds a new expression in the realm of song.

Throughout the concert, voice and ensemble weave a continuous musical journey, with each song revealing a new expressive landscape. The writing maintains a strong connection to melodic clarity and tonality, while the dialogue between the performers creates space for different musical sensibilities and moments of interpretative freedom.

Poetry occupies a central place in this cycle. The songs draw on some of the most distinctive voices in Portuguese-language literature, bringing together texts by Luís de Camões, Fernando Pessoa, Clarice Lispector and the Guimarães-born poet Paulo César Gonçalves. Through these authors, the concert traverses different periods and sensibilities of poetic expression, placing the voice at the heart of the project’s narrative.

The title Beyond Miles evokes Miles Davis, whose work remains one of the most striking examples of aesthetic openness in twentieth-century music. Throughout his career, Davis brought together musicians from different traditions and continually reinvented the language of jazz, exploring new ways for musical genres to intersect.

Inspired by this spirit of freedom and reinvention, Beyond Miles proposes a creative space where music, poetry and improvisation meet, asserting song as a privileged territory for dialogue between different artistic languages.

Premiering at Guimarães Jazz 2026, this project marks a new chapter in Pedro Emanuel Pereira’s artistic journey, bringing together performers from different traditions within a shared language that crosses boundaries between genres and musical sensibilities.

Ultimately, Beyond Miles invites us to explore this open space between musical worlds — a territory where song expands beyond its usual boundaries and music continues to seek new paths.