Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegelJazz is an enormous genre. You could start with early jazz like Louis Armstrong & Jelly Roll Morton. And then go forward to big band & swing like Duke Ellington & Benny Goodman. Later on, there are the cool jazz & bebop groups to check out like the bands that Miles Davis & John Coltrane fronted.

I second this. Jazz and Blues have such a fascinating history and the scale of artists is so diverse, it could take a life time to really be able to appreciate it.

Can't go wrong with good old Louis, or anything Miles Davis and Coltrane touched. Always gold. Thelonious Monk too is worth checking out. And Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, have I said Charlie Parker yet? Sorry, Jazz is my passion.

I would also say check out some of the female icons too, which are often overlooked. Some Ella Fitzgerlad and Billie Holiday for example.

For something a little more contemporary, Stacey Kent is quite good, and Michael Buble, but obviously start at the beginning and work your way through. You don't want to miss out on the classics.