As a youth, Carter lived in Harlem around the corner from Bubber Miley who was Duke Ellington's star trumpeter. Carter was inspired by Miley and bought a trumpet, but when he found he couldn't play like Miley he traded the trumpet in for a saxophone.
Carter began playing professionally at 15. He first recorded in 1928 and formed his first big band the following year. He played with Fletcher Henderson in 1930 and 1931, then briefly led McKinney's Cotton Pickers before returning to lead his own band in 1932. The few recordings his band made between 1933 and 1934 are considered by most jazz scholars to be milestones in early swing arranging. They were sophisticated and very complex arrangements, and a number of them became swing standards which were performed by other bands ("Blue Lou" is a great example of this.) He also arranged for Henderson and Duke Ellington during these years and wrote two hits, "Blues in My Heart" and "When Lights are Low." By the early 1930s he and Johnny Hodges were considered the leading alto players of the day. Carter also quickly became a leading trumpet soloist, having rediscovered the instrument. He recorded extensively on trumpet in the 1930s. Also, in 1933, Carter took part in an amazing series of sessions that featured the British band leader Spike Hughes, who came to New York specifically to organize a series of recordings featuring the best Black musicians available. These 14 sides were only issued in England at that time, though they are available on CD and worthwhile looking for. (The musicians were mainly made up from member of Carter's band and from Luis Russell's.)
In 1935 he moved to Europe, where he became staff arranger for the British Broadcasting Corporation dance orchestra and made several records. He returned to the United States in 1938 and led a big band and sextet before moving to Los Angeles in 1943 to write for movie studios. Carter continued writing and performing into his 90s. He arranged for Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Sarah Vaughan, among many others.
His biggest hit was "Cow Cow Boogie", a song he co-wrote with Don Raye and Gene DePaul, which was a hit for Ella Mae Morse in 1942.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Carter was one of the first black men to compose music for films. He was an inspiration and a mentor for Quincy Jones when Jones began writing for television and films in the 1960s. Also in the 1940s, Carter's successful legal battles in order to obtain housing in then-exclusive neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area made him a pioneer in an entirely different area.
He also appears uncredited in the 1952 film, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, as a sax player.
Carter was admired for his ability to write saxophone solis, which are sections of music that the entire section plays as one unit in the manner of a solo.
Carter was a member of the music advisory panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. He was also a member of the Black Film Makers' Hall of Fame and in 1980 received the Golden Score award of the American Society of Music Arrangers. Carter was also a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1996 and received honorary doctorates from Princeton, Harvard, Rutgers, and the New England Conservatory.
He died, aged 95, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles of what is thought to have been bronchitis.
IMAGINATION
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can you tell me what you see
There's a thousand voices whispering
Songs and you're the melody
So I imagine my heart with you
See what imagination can do
It's not hard to conceive
Many, many days our shadows passed
Seeing visions of a new bright horizon
Set the morning light
And that morning light is you
So I imagine my heart with you
See what imagination can do
It's not hard to conceive
love ecstasy imagining you, imagining me
The beauty we both can see
You're the dream I prayed would come along
To make my fantasy
Day and night you live inside my heart
You're the flame of love to me
The lyrics of Benny Carter/Oscar Peterson's song Imagination are about the power of imagination in conjuring up love and romance. The opening line, "Magic mirror come and search my heart", sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is asking for help in understanding their own heart, looking for clues to what they truly desire.
The second line, "Can you tell me what you see", suggests a sense of mystery and uncertainty about the future. The singer is looking for guidance, hoping that the "magic mirror" can provide some clarity. The rest of the lyrics speak to the power of the imagination in creating a reality that is filled with love and ecstasy.
The lines, "Many, many days our shadows passed, Seeing visions of a new bright horizon", suggests a sense of longing and anticipation. The singer is waiting for something to happen, hoping that their dreams will come true. The final lines, "Day and night you live inside my heart, You're the flame of love to me", capture the intensity of the singer's emotion.
Overall, the lyrics suggest that imagination is a powerful force that can help us create the reality we desire. By imagining a life filled with love and happiness, we can make it a reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Magic mirror come and search my heart
Addressing oneself to introspection and requesting to observe one's own heart to know it better.
Can you tell me what you see
Questioning the perspective of the inner self and the desire to learn from the same.
There's a thousand voices whispering
The plethora of emotions, anxieties, and desires that fill an individual's heart making it difficult to distinguish one from the other.
Songs and you're the melody
In the commotion of various feelings, a certain someone or something stands out as the foremost thought.
So I imagine my heart with you
Visualizing the preferred dream, of having the one they want close to the heart.
See what imagination can do
Understanding the lengths to which imagination can stretch and the things it can create.
It's not hard to conceive
The understanding that painting an ideal scenario isn't too far-fetched or impossible.
Love ecstasy imagining you with me
The pleasure felt while picturing the loved one in their arms, which is almost like an addiction or trance.
Many, many days our shadows passed
Thinking back on the days gone by, but how the present and future offer new bright opportunities.
Seeing visions of a new bright horizon
Finding hope in the new possibilities and being encouraged by the same.
Set the morning light
The start of a new day as an essential part of beginning afresh.
And that morning light is you
The thought that the person they're talking about is the first and last thought of the day.
It's not hard to conceive
The belief that having the perfect picture of life is achievable.
love ecstasy imagining you, imagining me
The veil of love that takes over, where both the partners are envisioning an ideal future together.
The beauty we both can see
The agreement shared by both partners on the same visualizations helps them consider a future together.
You're the dream I prayed would come along
The acknowledgment of a long-sought desire that is fulfilled with the arrival of the other person.
To make my fantasy
Acknowledging that their ideal world was made possible by the existence of their loved one.
Day and night you live inside my heart
How the other person has not just occupied a space in their life, but in their existence itself.
You're the flame of love to me
The spark ignited in their lives through the flame of passion that burns due to their love.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANKA WOLBERT, RONNIE MOERINGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
StrawB0ss
Holy fuck this guys fantastic. How have I never heard him before?