Esta - 2 Albums (1996-2002)

Created in Israel and nurtured in the musical halls of Manhattan the multicultural and instrumental band, ESTA, brings a thrilling and pulsating musical experience that reflects the many ethnic flavors of Israel's vibrant society. ESTA has performed in a variety of prestigious festivals and venues throughout Europe, Israel, and the United States. ESTA has appeared at Radio France in Paris, the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel, Festival L'Art De La Paix (The Art of Peace) in Belgium, and New Music Seminar in New York City.

Esta is a unique band from Israel with innovative music and an original sound. Esta's music combines the aromas of World Music, the power of Rock, and the spirit of Jazz into a powerful, energetic new sound that crosses genres, styles and borders. Esta which was an instrumental band for more then 18 years, was joined by the singer Yarona Harel, and today Esta's music is a mix of songs and instrumental tunes. Coming from Israel, a crossroads of different cultures, it is only natural that Esta embodies the variety of ethnic musical influences of their parents' generation. With this background, the band has created a rich, hot musical "stew" simmering with Mediterranean, Balkan, African, Asian, Celtic and Western flavors.

Proclaimed by music critics as "Israel's most original instrumental band", Esta has performed in various prestigious festivals and highly respected venues throughout Europe, Israel and the US. Esta performed for U.S. President Clinton at a White House reception in honor of Israel's 50th Anniversary. After listening to Esta's incredible performance and giving a nod of approval, President Clinton remarked, "I'd also like to ask that we give a special word of appreciation to the people who provided all that wonderful music which got us in the right frame of mind. ESTA, this band, thank you very much. If you could hang around here for a month or two, I think we might get some things done. You'd keep us all in a very positive frame of mind." Immediately after the speech, Esta was invited to a private room for a special 'thank-you' from the President and theVice-President.

Besides performing at the White House and touring extensively in the U.S., Esta has played at such notable venues as Peter's Gabriel's WOMAD (World Music Festival) in Italy, Dranouter Folkfestival in Belgium, Radio France in Paris, the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel, New Music Seminar in New York City, and Festival L'Art De La Paix (The Art of Peace) in Belgium. The band has shared the stage with artists such as Suzanne Vega, Noa, The Chieftains, Sinead O'Connor, Stanley Jordan, L. Shankar, and Cheb Mami. Esta's debut album, released by MCI Records, was greeted with critical acclaim. In 1996, Esta gave two sold out performances at the world-famous Blue Note club in support of their U.S. debut album Mediterranean Crossroads (Newance Records/Musicrama), which was produced by Esta and Producer/Engineer Steve Boyer (Grammy Award winner for Eric Clapton's MTV Unplugged Album).



The wider an artist's range of influences, the more likely he/she is to come up with something distinctive and fresh. Drawing on an incredibly wide range of influences, the Israeli worldbeat/jazz-fusion quartet Esta takes more than its share of risks on the bold Mediterranean Crossroads. Indeed, it isn't every day that a band fuses Middle Eastern and Mediterranean modal styles (Jewish, Arabic, Greek and Turkish, among others) with elements of jazz, Scotish/Celtic music, rock and/or funk and makes it work. Among the surprises are "Deror Yik'ra," awhich finds Esta adding Celtic touches to a traditional Yemenite song, and "Go-Go," an appealing number combining Celtic music with the style of funk known as go-go. For Esta, instruments ranging from electric bass guitar to bagpipes to the bouzouki (often used in Greek music) can be used for improvisation. At times, Esta brings to mind Weather Report – not because the bands sound alike, but because of its ability to fit so many different pieces into a cohesive whole. ~ AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson

Arranged By – Esta (11) (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10), Shlomo Deshet (tracks: 5, 9)
Producer – Esta (11), Steve Boyer

Amir Gvirtzman - Bagpipes, Saxophones, Penny Whistle, Flute, Ney, Arghul, Zorna
Ori Beanstok - Guitar, Jumbush, Banjo, Mandolin, Baglama, Bouzouki
Shlomo Deshet - Drums, Percussion, Pots, Pans, Darbuka, Deff, Mbira, Synth Marimba, Frame Drums, Djembe
Bentzi Gafni - Bass guitar

Special quest: Delmar Brown - keyboards on 10

Track List:
1. Go-Go (S. Deshet) - 6:26
2. Turkish Western (O. Beanstock) - 7:10
3. The Iraqis (S. Deshet) - 8:08
4. Monkey's Paradise (O. Beanstock) - 5:28
5. Oy Vey (Traditional Hassidic) - 5:25
6. Night Sail (B. Gafni, O. Beanstock) - 2:10
7. Why-Y (O. Beanstock) - 5:21
8. Zumzum (A. Gwirtzman, S. Deshet) - 4:39
9. Deror Yik'ra (Traditional Yemnenite) - 3:40
10. Deep In The Sea (S. Deshet) - 5:42






Amir Gwirtzman: Duduk, Zorna, Bagpipes, Tenor, Alto & Soprano Saxophones, Zurnapkone, Mey, Arghul, Clarinet, Shanai. Flutes: Chinese, Irish Penny Whistle, Skakuhachi, Native American, Ney, Kaval, Quena.
Shlomo Deshet: Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals, Keyboards, Melodica, Accordion, Shofar, Whistle, Kazoo, Darbuka, Riq, Zarb, Congas, Bongos, Djembe, Pandeiro, Birimbow, Sagat, Frame Drums, Udu.
Ori Beanstock: Jumbush, Saz, Acoustic, Electric, Classical and Quarter-Tone Guitars, Bandura, Tamkura, Mandola, Bouzouki, Steel Guitar, Bowed Guitar, Cavaquinho.
Bentzi Gafni: Frets and Fretless Bass, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Oud, Keyboards.
Yarona Harel: Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, Sagat.

Track List:
1. Tekia, Sheravim, Terua (S. Deshet) 1:50
2. Black Sheep (S. Deshet) 4:55
3. Our Hope (Trad: Greek - Lyrics: Y. Harel) 4:10
4. Nights in White Satin (Justin Hayward) 5:28
5. Till Dawn (B. Gafni) 4:51
6. With Rami Kleinstein (Lead vocal) - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For + Where The Streets Have No Name (U2) 5:32
7. The Kite (O. Beanstock) 4:40
8. A Word (O. Beanstock - Lyrics: Y. Harel) 5:47
9. Armenian Dream - Offering (Ara Dunkjian) 5:15
10. Fatma Morgana (S. Deshet) 7:53
11. Yearning Lament (S. Deshet - Lyrics: Y. Harel) 4:59




All thanks go to the Musicgate

More Music in My Blog
Follow My RSS Channel