IN: Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition by American composer George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the composition was orchestrated by Ferde Grofe several times, including the original 1924 scoring, "theater orchestra" setting published in 1926, and the symphony orchestra scoring published in 1942, though completed earlier. The piece received its premiere in the concert, An Experiment in Modern Music, which was held on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Whiteman and his band with Gershwin playing the piano. The editors of the Cambridge Music Handbooks opined that "The Rhapsody in Blue (1924) established Gershwin's reputation as a serious composer and has since become one of the most popular of all American concert works."

Two audio recordings exist of Gershwin performing an abridged version of the work with Whiteman's orchestra: an acoustic recording made for Victor on June 10, 1924, and running 8'59'' (this recording includes the original clarinetist, Ross Gorman, playing the glissando) and a Victor electrical recording made April 21, 1927, running 9'01'' (about half the length of the complete work). This 1927 version was also dubbed onto an RCA Victor 33 1/3 rpm Program Transcription in 1932. The latter version was actually conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret after an argument between Gershwin and Whiteman. A 1925 piano roll captured Gershwin's performance in a two piano version. Whiteman's orchestra also performed a shortened version of the piece in the 1930 film The King of Jazz featuring Roy Bargy on piano. Whiteman re-recorded the piece on both sides of a 12-inch Decca 78 rpm (29051) recorded on October 23, 1938. The first complete recording, with pianist Jesus Maria Sanroma and Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra, was issued by RCA Victor in 1935. Since the mid-20th century, the 1942 version has usually been performed by classical orchestras playing the expanded arrangement. In this form, it has become a staple of the concert repertoire. It has direct popular appeal while also being regarded respectfully by classical musicians. On August 21, 1945, a recording by Oscar Levant with the Philadelphia Orchestra (conducted by Eugene Ormandy) entered at its peak position of number 23 on the Cash Box survey (Columbia Masterworks 251). In 1973, the piece was recorded by jazz-rock artist Eumir Deodato on his album Deodato 2. The single reached Billboard peak positions number 41 Pop, number 10 Easy Listening. A disco arrangement was recorded by French pianist Richard Clayderman in 1978 and is one of his signature pieces. In the late 1970s, interest in the original arrangement was revived. On February 14, 1973, it received its first performance since the 1920s: Kenneth Kiesler secured needed permissions and led with work with pianist Paul Verrette on his U. of New Hampshire campus. Reconstructions of it have been recorded by Michael Tilson Thomas and the Columbia Jazz Band in 1976, and by Maurice Peress with Ivan Davis on piano as part of a 60th-anniversary reconstruction of the entire 1924 concert. Andre Watts (1976), Marco Fumo (1974), and Sara Davis Buechner (2005) released recordings of the work for solo piano as did Eric Himy (2004) in a version that featured the uncut original short score. Meanwhile, such two-piano teams as Jose Iturbi and Amparo Iturbi, France Veri and Michael Jamanis and Katia and Marielle Labeque, also recorded the piece. Michel Camilo recorded the piece in 2006, winning a Latin Grammy award.

did this inspire anybody?

OUT: Reconstructions of it have been recorded by Michael Tilson Thomas and the Columbia Jazz Band in 1976,

IN: Melanie Jayne Chisholm was born in Whiston, Lancashire, as the only child in the family. She later moved to Widnes, Cheshire, at a young age. Her parents married on 12 January 1971 and separated in 1978, when young Chisholm was four-and-a-half years old. Her father, Alan Chisholm, worked as a fitter at the Otis Elevator Company.

Chisholm began recording her second album in late 2001. She traveled to the United States to record some songs. During this time, she recorded "Independence Day" from the film soundtrack Bend It Like Beckham and wrote "Help Me Help You" for Holly Valance, included in her album Footprints. Chisholm, along with American singer Anastacia made an appearance at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards to present the award for "Best Song", which was given to P!nk. Chisholm's second album was originally planned to be released on 16 September 2002, then postponed to 24 February 2003. It was finally postponed to 10 March 2003. Rumors at the time speculated that Chisholm and Virgin had several conflicts, because they wanted her to lose weight. Chisholm also took time out due to struggles with clinical depression. On 24 February 2003 the first single from her new album was released, "Here It Comes Again", which reached number 7 in the UK and peaked in the top 20 in Spain and Ireland. She released her second studio album, Reason, on 10 March 2003 and it peaked at number 5, received gold certification in the UK. The label sent Chisholm to promote the album, including several pocket shows. On 24 April 2003, she embarked in the Reason Tour, traveling only in Europe. The second single, "On the Horizon", was released on 2 June 2003. After the previous single, the music critics were predicting that this single would redeem Chisholm's chart success, but the song peaked at number 14 and did not help sales. "Let's Love", was released as a single exclusively in Japan and used for a Toyota Motor Corporation commercial. Originally, "Yeh Yeh Yeh" was planned to be released as the third and final single on 22 September 2003, but shortly before this could happen, Chisholm injured her knee during the television show The Games and couldn't fully promote an upbeat song with an injury. "Melt" was then chosen to be launched along with "Yeh Yeh Yeh" as a double A-side, because she could do a small number of performances. The double single was released on 10 November 2003. The song peaked at number 27. In other countries of Europe, "Melt" wasn't released, only "Yeh Yeh Yeh" as a solo release. After the release of "Melt/Yeh Yeh Yeh", Melanie added some extra dates to the Reason Tour, and the Avo Session Basel concert was broadcast on 3sat.

What is Reason?

OUT:
Chisholm began recording her second album in late 2001. She traveled to the United States to record some songs.