Danny Bensusan and his clubs

Paul McCartney recently played New York's Highline Ballroom, a new club established by Danny Bensusan who 25 years ago founded the Blue Note and today owns three clubs in New York, four in Japan and one in Milano, as Haim Handwerker reports ( Haaretz ). Bensusan grew up in Jaffa and moved to Europe in 1969, then to New York. He started out owning a Jewish restaurant, then a disco and in the early 80s opened the Blue Note. He didn't know anything about jazz by the time - he trusted his business sense. Ten years ago he opened BB King's near Times Square. A living legend of the blues, guitarist King is a partner; he owns 3 percent of the club. Even James Brown performed at the venue. With the Highline Ballroom Bensusan wants to address a younger audience. In Las Vegas one of his clubs flopped; in Israel there is a good audience for jazz, but one has to fly the American musicians into the country and cannot charge the price for a ticket that one can in the USA.