We saw this instrument (below), like a player piano, at the Music House Museum in Traverse City [http://musichouse.org/]

George Gershwin recorded “Rhapsody in Blue” on it, incorporating his own playing style, as well as the notes of the music. This preceded the era of live recording of music, but the authenticity of the performance seems clear from the recording below.

Click on Gershwin to hear a 30 second excerpt. The file has to upload and then you click on the file.

The one-hour tour through this museum is extraordinary, tracing the history of self-playing instruments through decades with performing devices from the player piano through the grandest of calliopes that literally shake the building. All this before the birth of the recording industry. Highest endorsement for this museum!