How do you capture the essence of a jazz legend on film? Someone whose music didn’t just define an era but opened doors for an entirely new audience?

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I started where I felt it mattered most: with Esbjörn’s closest family. Their stories, their memories, became the foundation of this film. I then worked my way outward, into the Swedish music scene, through the circles of those who played with him and looked up to him, trying to get to know Esbjörn myself. I also dove into the entire e.s.t. CD catalog, what an incredible soundtrack to build a film around!

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Along the way, I met with giants like Viktoria Tolstoy, Nils Landgren and Pat Metheny, each of them describing Esbjörn as the true jazz master he really was. All the meetings and conversations shaped the film’s mosaic of storytelling, but it was in Esbjörn’s own 2003 Sommar i P1 that I truly felt I met him; his voice, his reflections. That recording became the heart of the film, letting Esbjörn speak directly to the audience in his own words.