Groove Merchant was an American jazz and R&B record label during the 1970s. It was run by producer Sonny Lester and distributed by Pickwick Records. Notable artists included Chick Corea, O'Donel Levy, Buddy Rich, Jimmy McGriff, and Lionel Hampton. Lester would later close Groove Merchant and restructure it as Lester Radio Corporation, or LRC, and have it distributed for a time by TK Records. Lester still retains the rights to the Groove Merchant/LRC back catalog and independently distributes them on compact disc.
And there are some more up-tempo offerings from ethnic groove merchants Malka VeHanesichim (Malka and the Princes) and Vadim Mechona, who dishes up energetic helpings of rap, rave and skateboard sounds.
WHAT’S GOING ON? Here is a small sample of area happenings — some in-person, others online — you may want to check out in the coming days ... Art/Museums. ONGOING ... Fridays-Sundays through Sept. 11. Allentown Art Museum, 31 N. 5th St ... 4 ... Bypass. $14.95 ... Comedy. JULY 9 ... SELLERSVILLE The Groove Merchants, 8 p.m., SellersvilleTheater 1894, Main and Temple streets ... .
On the women's side, Ashley Rucker (Merchants League) honed in on the groove and exploited it two claim both weekly honors — high game (258) and high series (652) ... … Kowalczyk met his match — literally — in the men's Merchants' action ... … Rucker answered a solid challenge by AlexFord for the Merchants' women's high game.