Mozart/ Petty
I have to admit...my first thought was an 18 year old Mozart who was given crash-course exposure to a lot of music that has appeared since he lived.
That would be fascinating. What things would he hear, that would turn his head and say “Replay that on your little machine!”
I was reading the series “Sparrowhawk” recently, which takes place in the years leading up to the American Revolution, and two of the characters were talking about the wonder child Mozart who was touring Europe as a 9 year old, and was said to be able to have any sheet of music placed in front of him and he could play it perfectly, and then...improvise, and even play backwards.
Mozart would be interesting.
Perhaps Glenn Miller might be an interesting choice?