Groove Merchant

1970s label founded by A&R man/producer [a=Sonny Lester] after leaving [l=United Artists Records] (after he had created the [l=Solid State Records (2)] jazz label for UA in 1966; it was eventually folded into [l=Blue Note] by 1970) that was known mostly for releasing mostly funky jazz recordings. Originally pressed and distributed by the notorious budget label [l=Pickwick] between 1971 and 1976, its catalog is a sampling goldmine.

It was succeeded by the [l=T.K. Records]-distributed [b]LRC[/b] ([i]Lester Radio Corporation[/i]), which was active for two years. Lester created the [l=CBS Records]-distributed [l=51 West] label in 1979 to reissue Groove Merchant material.

Lester was largely inactive until the CD age when, after several poor-quality CD reissues via [l=Denon] and [l=Laserlight], he reactivated the label as [b]LRC Ltd. - Groove Merchant[/b] reissuing material from the combined Groove Merchant/LRC catalog and new recordings.