In 1991 the Esta members decided to go for broke and moved to New York. They spent six and a half years of intensive work in the States, and eventually achieved success.

While in the Big Apple, in 1996, Esta put out their second album, Mediterranean Crossing, which was well received and helped to expose the band to a wider market. After close to five years Stateside, Deshet & Co. had the confidence to do the business in style. "We did the recording at the Power Station studios [in New York] and we worked with producer Steve Boyer [Grammy Award winner for Eric Clapton's MTV Unplugged Album]."

The album release brought the band to the attention of the media, and articles on Esta appeared in the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. They also secured gigs at Los Angeles's House of Blues and various other prestigious venues around the country.

But the place they most wanted to play at was New York's famed Blue Note club. That dream was realized in July 1996 and the club was sold out at both dates. "We tried to get a gig there five years earlier but, without a recording contract or locally produced disc, we didn't have a chance," says Beenstock. "We brought the album we made in Israel with us but, at the time, they weren't interested. After Mediterranean Crossing we were given a booking on a Monday, which is a night no one really goes out on, but we filled the place."

The club owners immediately booked Esta for another double-gig date six in months. That turned out to be the band's swan song as a US-based outfit.

"Considering we didn't have a major label behind us we got massive media exposure. We also had lots of gigs lined up. But we felt a need to come back to Israel," Deshet explains. "We felt a bit out of touch. We wanted to be back in the place where our music comes from. We knew the New York episode would end some time."