Bob Koester

Blues Hall of Fame honoree (1996) Robert Gregg "Bob" Koester founded the Delmark (originally "Delmar") Records jazz label and Chicago's Jazz Record Mart. In his teen years, he became a record trader and collector, even while studying cinematography and business at Saint Louis University, using his dormitory room as his mail-order headquarters. While in St. Louis, he was a founding member of the St. Louis Jazz Club. Moving to Chicago in 1958, he operated Seymour's Jazz Mart in the Roosevelt University Building from 1959 to 1963, then at 7 West Grand Avenue until 1971 when it moved to 4243 N. Lincoln Avenue and, from 2006, to 27 East Illinois Street.