Norman Riley - Underground Streets 1980 Folkways lp RARE OG Spiritual Jazz Funk

$

228

Welcome to our Winter Holiday Special 2025 "Mega" Jazz auction! The main focus is jazz-funk, spiritual jazz, fusion, soul-jazz, rare groove lp's, largely from the late 1960's-1970's, all originals, no reissues! WE COMBINE SHIPPING! :)
Approximately 500+ lp's, all originals (no reissues!), many have soundclips, which are from the actual record!

This week features so many rare top shelf lp's, how to begin? The rare original Phil Ranelin "Vibes From The Tribe" 1976 lp, Minoru Muraoka's 1970 "Bamboo" 1st Japan Press lp, Larry Von Nash's ultra-rare 1984 "On Time & In Tune", Sarah Webster Fabio, Jack Wilkin's Windows 1973 lp with Red Clay! Andy Bey, giant portions of the CTI, Blue Note (late 60's-early to mid 70's), Impulse! (late 60's-early to mid 70's), Muse, Mainstream Red Lion, Tax Scam grails, Prestige / Fantasy / Milestone label (late 60's through 70's), Walt Barr's two rarest lp's (plus his very first when he directed a stage band in Arizona!), multiple Carlos Garnett, nearly every Eddie Henderson record, Les Demerle, Sonny Sharrock (both Black Woman on Vortex, and Paradise!), Steve Kuhn's 1971 s/t lp, Bernard Purdie, a small curated selection of rare School Band Jazz Funk lp's, several Alice Coltrane, rare private pressings, there is so much heat we can't possibly highlight even the highlights (it took 15+ years to accumulate, collect these gems) and yes we start with about 36 samples of highlights, but by no means are they the only high-end items, as a collector whose lovingly maintained this for more than a decade, not to sound immodest, but this auction will be like seeing the want list of dreams come alive :), it's not easy to part with these gems, but the hope is they will go to loving homes to be enjoyed as much as we have, and more! :)

**Note on shipping: We have it set to 10 business days shipping & handling, we're a two person operation, that being said, we will doing everything humanly possible to get your package out as soon as possible, we'll be boxing from morning to night to get everything out as fast as possible, if you need your purchase as a holiday gift please message us so we can make that a priority (we hope that's fair to folks, given the timing!), also if you would like priority mail, please send us a message before purchasing so we can invoice that at lowest cost :). Typically any order over $120 in the US will automatically be given a free upgrade from media mail to priority mail at no extra cost :)  

* After this week's auction, we have in the pipeline auctions of rare traditional jazz of early 60's, late 50's ; ambient/electronic 60's/70's, modern soul/gospel boogie coming up! We'd be honored if you'd consider saving us as a favorite seller :)* 
All soundclips used are unedited directly from the item up for sale :). See below for detailed grading!
***Everything is 100% guaranteed! We've sold over 1,500+ records in the past year alone, with 100% positive feedback, bid with confidence :)

Feel free to message any questions!

*Note: Any Item that does not have a soundclip, feel free to message us, and we can make one for you :)

**Note: for items with multiple soundclips, the title of track is above each soundclip**

Soundclip info: A1 "Sound Of The Streets", B3 "Colors", A3 "...Mugabe (Instrumental!)", b3 begins at 1:51, a3 begins at 3:54   
Soundclip:  Update your internet browser to latest version in order to play audio clip.

Media Grade:  EX (very prime copy, shades away from NM, listen to soundclip)
Sleeve Grade:  VG (former library stickers on front, otherwise would be VG+. Also spine has very light isolated chipping, overall structurally solid, includes original folkways release booklet! See photos)
Year / Label / Catalogue #:   1980  /  Folkways Records  / FL 9723 
Brief Comments: Well, one of the hardest to find, obscure, spiritual jazz funk / fusion / soul/ electronic (peep the instrumental Mugabe, it's like a lo-fi version of Cybotron) lp's, probably only Sarah Webster Fabio, or Montgomery Express is more hard to find on Folkways. Norman Riley was a young Manhattan, New York City multi-talented artist, teacher, poet, writer, a genius musically, and this was music for an untitled play he was working on! He had worked on four plays performed up and down the east coast already, he was only 26... He was simultaneously working on a novel "The Evolution of Dessalines Scott". He corresponded with Amiri Baraka, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Angela Davis, Gil Scott-Heron would stop in to see his plays....he befriended Basquiat, the master playwright August Wilson, and Fred Wesley, among others. He was simply put a genius, he deserved a MacArthur Fellowship grant, but they weren't giving it to people like Norman Riley, who thoughtfully, provokingly challenged the status quo in ways too real. 
Listen to Colors (comp'd on the Jazzmen Spiritual Jazz Vol.6 "Vocal Jazz"), he envisioned every color together, to bring about a new era, one of real change, from the bottom up...."The Rock" explores alienation, loneliness of this de-industrialized deracinated era in such a truly felt way, one can identify closely, intimately today...likewise with "Quietly Untitled", "Mysterious Lady" came about as a meditation on the beautiful young woman "noticed but never seen", "She is heard and felt, but never really listened to", an objectification because "she is so young and pretty, that tells us a lot about her condition, but says even more about our own....", about our society, about how we conceive of one another, and it would have us question, why is this so, why must this be, is this healthy for a community of human beings collectively and individually? To put it another way, where do our priorities lay. "Sounds Of The Streets" is one of my personal favorites, in 1980, among upper middle class African-Americans, James Brown was largely persona non grata, likewise by many pseudo-intellects with more degrees than sense. Norman, like Malcolm, never forgot the real importance of "the sound of the streets", he writes in the booklet notes "some of our most articulate "hardest working poets", are never acknowledged as such. They simply do what's got to be done, what's needed, what's felt. sounds of the streets is about them. And about a man named James Brown, who some people say was/still is in his own right, one of our greatest poets...". A3 "...Mugabe" is an instrumental, reminiscent in ways of John Carpenter, but also with an incredible percussive background, congas, shakers, it does have that cinematic feel to it, but also a call, thematic in the literal sense....to put into perspective, in 1980, Robert Mugabe was still a heroic revolutionary, having just led as general / statesman, the birth of Zimbabwe out of the grasp of Rhodesia (as the country had formally been called), the odds were enormous, it took a real toll, nuclear apartheid South Africa sent supplies, mercenaries to Rhodesia on behalf of the white government, so did the U.S., and yet against all odds, a newly free Zimbabwe was birthed in 1979. Mugabe could have punished the whites (who didn't leave), confiscated money / land / property, enacted revenge, but instead, he publicly asked for the Rhodesian whites to stay, to help in forming Zimbabwe, a nation for all, he envisioned a truly free Zimbabwe, for that brighter day....slowly but surely absolute power corrupts absolutely, no one denies that...but in 1980, Mugabe was still a leader of belief, conviction, who sought to inspire, to build together, it's only fair to look at the tribute I think, in the lens of 1980, rather than 1987, or 1993, or 2003....
Few records of any genre are this deep, touching, sublime....There's really no comparison, it's uniquely Norman Riley, who only recorded this, and although kept on writing, seemed to fade into obscurity....But he left us a treasure, a work of art, a work that will defy expectations of what is possible to capture in a recorded medium.
One that has always been rare, even the 2012 CD reissue (only format its ever been reissued on) is not easy to track down a copy of, but I digress, I'll let Norman Riley speak, just listen, take it in, it's only such a small slice, but see if that isn't a glimpse into some of the most satisfying mind, heart, and soul food :)





*Tariffs aren't going to impact used vinyl records / music media, we wish they were never in place at all, so for international buyers, don't worry on that account!
For our record grading, we stand by the merits outlined in the scale below, anything VG or below will have a detailed explanation in brackets next to the grade.
For sleeves, we will mention anytime there is split, or defect not visible in the photos in brackets next to the grade, otherwise we refer to the photos for the merit of the grade. Of course any questions, concerns, are always welcome :) 
Our media grading scale is as follows: [*Quick note, our VPI is still in storage on the other side of the US, we do brush clean many  items carefully, but we have to prioritize, we won't leave anyone stranded with a filthy record, only "filthy" good! We don't factor dust particles into the grading]
NM = Essentially a pristine album, like new, rarely used.
EX = Under bright light if there is any scuffs or mark, which will be inaudible, most collectors and sellers would tend to consider it closer to NM, EX is also the grade others might call VG++ under the same level of conservative scrutiny.
VG+ = More then a small handful of scuffs, light marks, nothing feelable, will have high-gloss, a thoroughly enjoyable copy that may only have tiny moments of barely perceptible surface noise overpowered by the music. Our VG+ will satisfy the vast majority of collectors as a nice keeper copy, as collector's ourselves for nearly two decades, this grade is aimed to be a great keeper. Note if say the record has a light DNAP warp, but otherwise is NM, we will automatically put it to VG+ and detail that. Another scenario is if a copy plays at a solid EX, but visually is VG, the composite grade will be VG+, and detailed as such.
VG = More hairlines, more marks, maybe a few visible scratches, no more then two feelable scratches (which automatically lowers to VG-), there likely will be surface noise, but will play through, still being an enjoyable copy, the audio quality will satisfy most collector's (the golden rule: if it doesn't satisfy us, it won't be VG), if a record is otherwise EX, but has a slight momentary skip, where 99% of the record is EX, we will note that, and put it at VG. Usually will retain a nice gloss.
VG- = More Scratches than VG, surface noise will jump out more, it be overpowered for longer stretches, or compete with the music in places, it will likely play all the way through on most turntables, a copy that you can still get a decent play enjoyment from.
G+ = Lots of scratches, deeper ones, surface noise now mostly overpowers or competes with the music. It may skip in some places. We don't tend to sell G+ copies, unless the rarity is so great, and that will be precisely detailed.
Thrashed = Pretty much a "Theoretical Grade" for us, it be for all intents & purposes virtually unplayable, it would be for display purposes, or perhaps if you needed the cover but not the record. It's "theoretical" because so far we haven't sold or identified anything intended to sell at this bottom level.
Every item is guaranteed to YOUR satisfaction, no questions asked, 100% refund. We stand by our integrity, our goal is to make sure you are absolutely delighted with your purchase, to deliver a cherished album to your collection :). On the slightest chance of human error, if we make a mistake, we take accountability for that, we don't anyone to have a record they aren't happy with! Bid with confidence :)
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Thank you from EnfieldVinyl, a family business, and the auction venture of EnfieldRecords :)
Kindly,
-Alec :D
&
-Ellie :)