Groove Merchant
Groove Merchant was an American jazz and R&B label of the 1970s, run by producer Sonny Lester and distributed by Pickwick Records (later TK Records for a period); Lester later restructured it as the Lester Radio Corporation (LRC) and retains the back catalogue.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-groove-merchant.md] The label issued 34 albums in its "500 Series" (1971–74) plus 2200/3300/4000 series through 1976 — most of them lean, punchy soul-jazz sessions cut for a budget-market audience.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-groove-merchant.md]
Why it matters to the Hammond story
Groove Merchant is a second act label for the soul-jazz organ greats who aged out of the Blue Note system: its roster lists Jimmy McGriff, Lonnie Smith, Groove Holmes, Reuben Wilson, O'Donel Levy and "Giants of the Organ" live compilations alongside Chick Corea, Buddy Rich and Lionel Hampton.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-groove-merchant.md]
- Jimmy McGriff cut a run of fatback organ LPs here (Fly Dude, Let's Stay Together, compiled on Flyin' Time)^[raw/articles/wikipedia-groove-merchant.md]^[raw/articles/wikipedia-jimmy-mcgriff.md]
- Dr. Lonnie Smith recorded for Groove Merchant in the early 1970s between his Blue Note and CTI-era work^[raw/articles/wikipedia-dr-lonnie-smith.md]