Now, Brackeen is a professor at Berklee College of Music, with piano master classes and jazz ensembles.

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From ragtime to modern fusion, jazz music has always relied on one staple instrument: the piano.

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Between her roots in classical piano and her jazz-guitar education at the Berklee College of Music, it would be easy for Larkin to fall back on technical prowess and ability to experiment with instruments such as the "baribow" (a baritone guitar played with a violin bow).

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Jazz legend Herbie Hancock saw one future of music when he was blown away by the piano skills of 14-year-old Jennifer Lin , awed by a classical maestro with full-bore improvisational chops.

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