IT HELPS TO BE MAD IN THE JAZZ WORLD

Jazz musicians are four times more likely to suffer from mood swings,
anxiety, depression and other mental health problems than non-creative
people, a study says.

The trumpeter Miles Davis heard imaginary voices and often played with his
back to the audience. The saxophonist Art Pepper was terrified of
telephones and the pianist Thelonious Monk sometimes paced up and down for
days without sleep.

A study of 40 innovators of classic modern jazz, or bebop - the post-war
movement associated with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie - suggests that
jazz musicians also indulge in above average levels of drug abuse, alcohol
and "sensation seeking behaviour".

The study is the work of Dr Geoffrey Wills, a retired clinical psychologist
and former professional drummer.

"It is perfectly possible to be a balanced person and a great jazz
musician," he said. "But there does appear to be a trend where the two
factors co-exist."

Dr Wills studied the biographies of 40 leading American jazz musicians
between 1945 and 1960. Three suffered from serious psychotic disorders.
Monk, a key architect of the modern jazz revolution, experimented with
drugs and almost certainly had "intoxication delirium".

The pianist Bud Powell was diagnosed with schizophrenia, while Davis had
paranoid delusions and searched his house for imaginary people.

Dr Wills, who published his findings in the British Journal of Psychiatry,
said: "I am not saying all jazz musicians are crazy, but I have highlighted
a trend that is comparable with other creative people."