A new study from the George Washington University School of Medicine (USA) has brought to light the neurological problems that affected some of the great jazz legends. Its author, Philip L. Pearl, recounts howCole porter, author of such well-known songs as theLet?s do it, let?s fall in lovethat Ella Fitzgerald sang orMy Heart Belongs To Daddy, suffered an equestrian accident that caused osteomyelitis, leg amputation and phantom limb pain. Additionally, Cole was one of the first people to experiment with a new treatment fordepression, the electroshock.
The article also quotes the musicianGeorge Gershwin, opera authorPorgy and Besswho masterfully performed the jazz couple that formed Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Gershwin suffered from severe headaches, dizziness and fainting until he was diagnosed atbrain tumor in the right temporal lobe. The intervention to remove it ended his life at the age of 41. Later it was discovered that the fatal outcome could have been avoided, since it was a benign glioma.
Of the jazz pianistThelonious Monksays Pearl that she had an erratic mood, that and in recent years she was the victim of severalstrokes. He is also a pianistBud Powellsuffered severe post-traumatic headaches after being beaten by a police officer when defending precisely Thelonious Monk during a raid on a Harlem club. For his part,bassist and songwriter Charles MingusHe passed away humming a new song on his recorder due to a degenerative disease that affected his motor neurons.
