Michael Jackson was busy working on two music projects before his untimely death - including one album of classical compositions.
Fans were eagerly waiting the King of Pop's live comeback with a 50-date residency at London's O2 Arena when he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on 25 June (09).
Jackson's greatest hits have since been celebrated posthumously, re-entering music charts all over the world.
But the singer dreamed of releasing new material, and was busy thinking up not only a pop project, but an instrumental album.
In May (09), Jackson contacted composer David Michael Frank, who he collaborated with on a Sammy Davis Jr. tribute in 1989, for help orchestrating his ambitious ideas.
Frank visited the Thriller star in his Los Angeles home and was stunned by his knowledge of classical music.
He says, "He had two demos of two pieces he'd written, but they weren't complete. For one of them, he had a whole section of it done in his head. He had not recorded it. He hummed it to me as I sat at the keyboard in his pool house and we figured out the chords - I guess this recording I made is the only copy that exists of this music."
And just weeks before his death, Jackson had telephoned Frank to ask how the piece was coming along.
Frank recalls, "He mentioned more instrumental music of his he wanted to record, including one jazz piece. I hope one day his family will decide to record this music as a tribute and show the world the depth of his artistry."