Is Jazz harmful to your health?

[redmango7]

I see so many obituaries in this forum it makes me wonder.

[shrugs]

don't break anything wonderin'.

[Paul B]

Probably the only broken thing is my friend shrugs' wallet...;--)

Bye-ya.

[Darryl G. Thomas]

It's been harmful to my financial health.

[redmango7]

Well, when I think of a jazz musician I envision a balding, cigar-smoking elderly person with bloated abdomen, atrophied extremities, and a predisposition for Alkee-hol.

[mke]

Originally posted by redmango7
Well, when I think of a jazz musician I envision a balding, cigar-smoking elderly person with bloated abdomen, atrophied extremities, and a predisposition for Alkee-hol.

I think it's time you renewed the prescription on those glasses.

[gonzo]

my wallet too.

[Cem]

Originally posted by redmango7
Well, when I think of a jazz musician I envision a balding, cigar-smoking elderly person with bloated abdomen, atrophied extremities, and a predisposition for Alkee-hol.

Seems to me, even Hollywood's got a more current, interesting stereotype down. Time to watch some recent flicks.

[Sand]

Originally posted by redmango7
I see so many obituaries in this forum it makes me wonder.

"One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943

[cookie]

I think jazz *can* be hazardous to one's health. There was always the smoke in clubs (secondhand or otherwise). There are the rigors of travel and the question of diet. Also, for the musician, it's not the most stable of work and securing medical benefits can be next to impossible. I know so many jazz musicians who do not have health insurance or who have only the barest coverage. I believe through the Union, this may be improving. Still, it's possible that some musicians have not been able to afford the level of health care they needed for longevity.

[Rob C]

That makes me think of Braxton, as described in Forces in Motion, eating every meal on tour at McDonald's, and saying the choice for a jazz musician is to go home healthy and broke, or go home sick with some coins.

[Dr Dave]

Death is, unfortunately, the best career move for many jazz artists, just as it is for those in other fields of artistic endeavor.

The late Rosie Clooney describing the band bus trips in her days as a singer with Tony Pastor's band said:
"The front of the bus was filled with the guys who were only on booze. The middle was filled with guys who were on pot. But the back of the bus was filled with guys on everything but roller skates."

But of course it was second hand tobacco smoke in those cramped busses that affected everyones health and shortened life span.

[Dr Dave]

Of course.