'Sunday At The Village Vanguard'

At a certain point, the rule defines a situation other than the exception.

With that said, most jazz musicians lead full-throttle lives that lead to ultimately tragic deaths.

Bill Evans, for example, was a super popular and well-respected jazz pianist reponsible for countless albums including Sunday at the Village Vanguard, culled from five different performances at the Village Vanguard in the early 1960s.

But, he was addicted to heroin for most of his life. By the 1970s, he was addicted to cocaine. In 1980, his body said, "fuck this." He had a perforated liver, hepatitus, a bleeding ulcer, cirrhosis of the living and bronchial pneumonia. Peter Pettinger called it "the longest suicide in history."

Bassist Scott LaFaro had it worse. Ten days after recording Sunday at the Village Vanguard, the renowned bassist was killed in an automobile accident.

Drummer Paul Motian is still alive. Bucking the trend.