ITS RUNNING AND ITS JAZZ (SHAME I HATE BALLET)..

It's not everyday that my interests "collide". It's not everyday that I get something for nowt.
So today is quite a good day.
I was listening to a few Wynton Marsalis tracks on the old digital jukebox type thingummy while having a little surf around that ocean of trivia and drivel that is the interweb when I decided to have a little look at Mr Marsalis's site. And jolly pleased I did....

On looking at his discography (it'd take you all week to trawl thorough his considerable output), I noticed that he had written the music for a ballet based on the life and achievements of 1988 triple gold medalist Florence Griffith Joyner (Flojo). Details here: http://www.wyntonmarsalis.org/discography/jazz/here-now/

Anyway. It's a bit of a stretch to call it an "album", coming in at a mere twenty four minutes it's probably best described as an EP these days. But that's a picky complaint given that it's free !! A jazz album .... about running ... and it's free!

As you might expect from Wynton, even though it's commissioned for a "modern" ballet, and is fairly faced paced as you would expect, given the subject matter, it's still pretty much rooted in a sort of 30's/40's New Orleans tradition (especially the track "Glamour").
I particularly like Richard Johnson's piano on the track called "Strength". It's quite a slow paced and reflective piece to start with given the title and, to my mind, at least, has more a quality of the feeling of well being that comes from a good long steady run than a sprint or hard run. However about two thirds of the way through the tempo and energy really picks up.
Anyway... enough of me babbling on about it. Download it and listen yourself....
Just don't put it on your MP3 player and listen to it while racing. Training - "yes" (if you must). Racing - "No"! In fact my personal recommendation would be to listen to after a run - best with a nice coffee and perhaps a slice of lemon drizzle cake or some such.