David Broza

David Broza (דויד ברוזה, born September 4, 1955) is a multi-platinum Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist.

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. 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. However, after high school graduation he was conscripted into a three-year term in the Israeli military. Stationed away from family and friends, 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, US for 17 years.[2] He resides in Tel Aviv and is a member of Kehilat Sinai, a conservative synagogue, where he celebrated his son's bar mitzvah.[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[citation needed] artists on the international music scene.

Broza's concert tours included Belgium, Spain, Argentina, 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.

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, a mission very close to Hani's heart. They were invited by the Israeli and Jordanian governments to perform in concert during the peace signing between the two countries.