I love finding jazz references in cartoons and TV shows. One of my favorites was Lisa Simpson's saxophone mentor, Bleeding Gums Murphy.
Bleeding Gums Murphy was a reoccurring character on The Simpsons that befriended Lisa until his death. He had a very successful, yet short lived career where he recorded Sax on the Beach. Unfortunately, Murphy found himself broke and resorted to playing on top of a bridge in Springfield in the middle of most nights. This is a great homage paid to the great Sonny Rollins who used to play alone on the Williamsburg Bridge for three years after retiring publicly. For little Lisa Simpson, Bleeding Gums Murphy was the mentor that expanded her mind and her music much further than she could have imagined... much like what some have done for me.
Bleeding Gums Murphy was a reoccurring character on The Simpsons that befriended Lisa until his death. He had a very successful, yet short lived career where he recorded Sax on the Beach. Unfortunately, Murphy found himself broke and resorted to playing on top of a bridge in Springfield in the middle of most nights. This is a great homage paid to the great Sonny Rollins who used to play alone on the Williamsburg Bridge for three years after retiring publicly. For little Lisa Simpson, Bleeding Gums Murphy was the mentor that expanded her mind and her music much further than she could have imagined... much like what some have done for me.
Bleeding Gums Murphy was society's and the media's unique way of paying tribute to an important legend of our country's culture. I hadn't realized the representation of this character until learning about jazz and putting the two together. It truly is a special representation. Play on Jazz Man :)
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