The Impact of Mental Health on Jazz Legend Thelonious Monk
“BLUE MONK”: MENTAL HEALTH,
SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND THE JAZZ PRESS
1945-1959
Case Study: Thelonious Monk
Monk was first hospitalized in 1957 at Bellevue in NYC.
•
It was an involuntary admission
•
He was considered “a danger to himself and others” so
was held for observation
•
It felt like a prison to Monk
•
Conditions were overcrowded: 650 patients were
jammed into the 630-bed facility
•
After three weeks, a physician who was a family friend
successfully negotiated Monk’s release
•
He was released without a diagnosis
He was “fortunate” to have escaped being misdiagnosed
as a “paranoid schizophrenic” as were some of fellow jazz
musicians Including Charles Mingus and Bud Powell.
Paranoid schizophrenic was a label often applied to black
patients and nonconformist artists.
DIAGNOSIS
Nearly twenty years later, Monk was accurately diagnosed with bipolar
disorder.
His depressive symptoms included:
Falling asleep at the piano
Staring into space, lost in thought, seemingly unable to recognize
people around him
Not leaving his home for weeks at a time
His symptoms of hypomania included:
Staying awake for 2-3 days at a time
Frenetic pacing
Going without eating so as not to interrupt other activities
‘MAD MONK’: REPRESENTING MENTAL
ILLNESS IN THE JAZZ PRESS
•
Many friends, colleagues, and journalists interpreted
Monk’s symptoms as his trademark eccentricities.
•
Although some speculated that his “madness” was
intrinsic to his creative genius, his bipolar disorder
interfered with Monk’s ability to create and retain jobs.
•
It also negatively impacted his family.
Thelonious Monk, a jazz icon, faced struggles with mental health, including an involuntary hospitalization and a misdiagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, his symptoms affected his music career and personal life, highlighting the intersection of creativity and mental illness in the jazz world.
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Presentation Transcript
BLUE MONK: MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND THE JAZZ PRESS 1945-1959
Monk was first hospitalized in 1957 at Bellevue in NYC. It was an involuntary admission He was considered a danger to himself and others so was held for observation It felt like a prison to Monk Conditions were overcrowded: 650 patients were jammed into the 630-bed facility After three weeks, a physician who was a family friend successfully negotiated Monk s release He was released without a diagnosis He was fortunate to have escaped being misdiagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic as were some of fellow jazz musicians Including Charles Mingus and Bud Powell. Paranoid schizophrenic was a label often applied to black patients and nonconformist artists.
DIAGNOSIS Nearly twenty years later, Monk was accurately diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His depressive symptoms included: Falling asleep at the piano Staring into space, lost in thought, seemingly unable to recognize people around him Not leaving his home for weeks at a time His symptoms of hypomania included: Staying awake for 2-3 days at a time Frenetic pacing Going without eating so as not to interrupt other activities
MAD MONK: REPRESENTING MENTAL ILLNESS IN THE JAZZ PRESS Many friends, colleagues, and journalists interpreted Monk s symptoms as his trademark eccentricities. Although some speculated that his madness was intrinsic to his creative genius, his bipolar disorder interfered with Monk s ability to create and retain jobs. It also negatively impacted his family.
