David Broza

David Broza
Background information
Born (1955-09-04) September 4, 1955
Origin Haifa, Israel
Genres Pop rock
Rock
Folk rock
Blues
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, activist
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1977—
Labels NMC, Hed Arzi, S-Curve, RGB
Website davidbroza.net

David Broza (Hebrew: דויד ברוזה‎‎; born September 4, 1955) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and activist. His music mixes modern pop with Spanish music.

Personal life

The son of an Israeli–British businessman and a folk singer, Broza was born in Haifa, Israel. He was raised and educated in England and Spain, where he was schooled at Runnymede College, in Madrid. Broza's grandfather, Wellesley Aron, co-founded the Arab-Israeli peace settlement, Neve Shalom – Wāħat as-Salām (The Oasis of Peace)[1] and the Habonim youth movement. Young David Broza originally planned to become a graphic artist, and by age 17 he was selling his paintings in the Rastro, Madrid's Sunday flea market. Following high school, and while serving in the Israel Defense Forces, he began playing guitar in cafes to earn extra money. Eventually he was offered a record deal, but as he still hoped to attend the Rhode Island School of Design, he declined. He later recorded a tape to promote his live shows.

Broza was married to Ruti, from whom he is divorced. He has three children. He lived in Cresskill, New Jersey, United States for 17 years.[2] He resides in Tel Aviv and is a member of Kehilat Sinai, a Masorti (Conservative) synagogue.[3]

Musical career

Critics have labelled Broza as "a post-modern Leonard Cohen" and the "Stevie Ray Vaughan of folk rock".[4] He has also been compared to Bruce Springsteen[1] as well as Gordon Lightfoot and Jackson Browne.[5] Broza's American debut album, Away From Home, was praised by The New York Times as one of the best pop albums of the year.[4] Time of Trains, his second American release, gained him recognition as one of the most important artists on the international music scene.

Broza's concert tours included Belgium, Spain, Argentina, Ecuador, Germany, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. As an artist-in-residence at Bennington College in Vermont, he gained respect in American literary circles.[4] Broza has made a mission of studying the work of American writers for the past several years, haunting libraries and bookstores, "always reading with a melody in my head." He continues to record albums in Hebrew for his Israeli fans. He travels frequently all over the world. His popularity achieved new heights with the success of his 5x platinum album The Woman By My Side. His live albums recorded at the top of Masada in 1994 and 1999 went platinum. His Spanish language release, Isla Mujeres (Woman Island, named after a song written by Javier Ruibal), was released in Spain. His Hebrew recording, "All or Nothing" was released in 2002 and went gold within one week, as well as its Spanish version, "Todo o Nada". David Broza at Masada, a special concert featuring Broza, Jackson Browne and Shawn Colvin, aired in America on September 6, 2007 on PBS.[6] In 2009, Broza recorded the song "V'ulai" for the organization Pioneers For A Cure, with the proceeds benefiting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

On June 5, 2011 Broza performed Yihieh Tov, Bedouin Love Song, and Holem at the inauguration of the Ketura Sun solar field built by Arava Power Company at Kibbutz Ketura.

Musical collaboration

In 1994, David Broza performed with Texan singer Townes Van Zandt during a Writers in the Round concert in Houston. When Van Zandt died three years later, he left Broza a shoe box full of unreleased poems and lyrics with a request that Broza set them to music. The result was Night Dawn: The Unpublished Poetry of Townes Van Zandt," which was released in 2010.

In early 2013, Broza recorded sessions at Sabreen Studios in East Jerusalem with a band composed of both Israeli and Palestinian musicians, including Mira Awad, Shaa'nan Streett of Hadag Nahash, West Bank rap duo G-Town and Wyclef Jean. The resulting album, "East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem," produced by Steve Earle and Steve Greenberg, was released in early 2014 on S-Curve Records.[7]

Peace activism

An activist who is committed to several humanitarian causes, Broza was appointed a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. His song "Together" (co-written with Ramsey McLean) was the theme song for the UNICEF 50th anniversary celebration in more than 148 countries.[1]

He toured the Middle East with Jordanian musician Hani Naser to promote peace through music. They were invited by the Israeli and Jordanian governments to perform in concert during the peace signing between the two countries.

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 David Broza profile at the Wayback Machine (archived November 21, 2007), Jewish Music Group (archived webpage)
  2. ↑ Leichman, Joseph. "A Chava Alberstein and David Broza experience: Israeli Megastars head for Englewood", Jewish Standard, March 1, 2007. Accessed November 28, 2007. "Broza lived in Cresskill for 17 years, and he will return to New Jersey when he plays with Alberstein at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood tomorrow night."
  3. ↑ "Like in America", Ha'aretz
  4. 1 2 3 David Broza at Aviv Productions, Ltd
  5. ↑ Berns, Suzan. 'Israeli Springsteen' wields flamenco and blues at festival, j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California, San Francisco Jewish Community Publications Inc., 31 May 1996.
  6. ↑ Davis, Barry. Israel's David Broza brings Masada to American TV viewers, Israel21c, 5 December 2007.
  7. ↑ Townes Van Zandt's bequest finds new life at "Dawn"
  8. ↑ Poets In New York at Discogs (list of releases)

External links

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