Some jazz artists I've known personally, were gifted, as opposed to talented, or practiced hard. They could improvise on their chosen musical instruments and mesmerize a crowd on any given night. I decided not to name them, because I'm going to give you the reasons they didn't become rich and famous. One word, drugs!
I can say with confidence, there was absolutely no linkage between the drugs and jazz; they would have been drug addicts whether they were musicians or not. From what I could ascertain in these particular cases, there was some "unspeakable" psychological pain they had endured, and drugs was their only means of escape. This also applied to Billy Holiday if you read about the psychological trauma she endured as child.
Miles Davis would not have become rich and so famous, had he not kicked his drug habit. He was a copycat drug user, he did it because he thought it was hip. There was no "unspeakable" psychological event that ever occurred in his life, and that's why he was able to kick the habit.
The musicians who I watched shoot themselves, didn't know how I sufferd when they did it. Since we had become close friends, I could also imagine being part of their "guaranteed" wealth and fame. No matter how gifted an artist is, if he can't get up and go to work, there is no way he can be successful. No, drugs did not help them play better, as a matter of fact, they just wouldn't show up on a gig if they were wasted. When I asked them why, they simply looked off into space.
None of the current crop of musicians can remotely compare to the musicians I knew personally. You'll have to take my word for this, or not take my word; but the linkage between rich and famous, as opposed to relatively unknown is not necessarily how good of a jazz musician the individual is.
Enjoy the music.