Este: Shiomo Deshet, Bentzi Gafni, Yarona Hare!, Ori Binshtok and Amir Gwirtzman.
Suzanne Chessler
1 Special to the Jewish News
hree years have passed
since the Israeli quintet
Esta has entertained in
the United States, but the band
members haven't forgotten the
good times they had in
Michigan.
They are looking for more of
the same as they tour their folk
music to three stops outside the
Metro area: the Whiting in Flint
on Feb. 18, Grand Valley State
University in Allendale on Feb. 22
and the Mona Shores High
School Auditorium in Norton
Shores near Muskegon on Feb.
25.
Esta members lived in the
United States for a time to
advance their careers, but they
decided that Israel was the right
place for them. •
Band tourssMichigan as part*of
Arts Midwest cultural exchange.
"Our public concerts are based
on our last two albums — Home
Made World and Mediterranean
plus other materi-
Crossroads
als:' says Shlomo Deshet, who
plays drums and percussions.
"We call our music Turkish
Western because it includes
Middle Eastern and Western
instruments, and sounds. About .
80 percent of our songs are origi-
nal, but we also like to take old
Jewish melodies and perform
them in new ways!'
—
Oom-Pah
Esta, together for almost 20 years
after the four men met in the
Israeli military, started out as a
quartet of four friends, now close
to their 40th birthdays. The
name, which translates into
"Oom-pah" in English, was cho-
sen to capture the rhythm and
folk elements they wanted to
showcase.
-
Other band members are Amir
Gwirtzman on saxophone and
other reed instruments, Ori
Binshtok on string instruments
and Bentzi Gafni on electric bass.
With jazz as an important part of
the group's package, they also
include folk instruments such as
bagpipes, zorna, bouzouki, dar
buka, suz and nay.
"Our music is very much
Israeli and Jewish, but it's also
multi-ethnic and cross-cultural:'
says Gwirtzman. "Sonic of the
tunes are written by individual
members of the band, and some
are written by all of us. Even if a
tune is written by one of us, it's
usually processed by the rest!' .
Although all of the band mem-
bers studied music in college,
they are self-:taught on some of
the instruments. They have taken
private lessons to master tech-
niques and acquire skills on new
instruments.
Just over five years ago, the
group added a woman singer,
Yarona Harel: She had been one
of many singers who had audi-
tioned for the band. The idea was
to bring more versatility to the
shows.
Although HareI had known
Deshet for many years as they
attended the same school, it had
been difficult adjusting to the
new mix at the start. Mindsets
quickly changed as Harel and
Deshet established a new rela-
tionship, and the two married.
They now have two children.
"It was all like magic," he says.
One Family
Esta, whose touring has been
curtailed at times because of
politiCal issues, has appeared in
many countries and at many
world music festivals, including
Israeli on page 47
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r y
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