Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Sevens
Miles Davies: Sketches of Spain
er...I'll get back to you.

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. I don't know much about Jazz, but I love this album.

In A Silent Way - Miles Davis
Chicken Shack - Jimmy Smith
The Wes Montgomery Trio (on riverside)
Chet Baker Sings (on Pacific Jazz)
Up With Donald Byrd (on Blue Note)

I believe I have a healthy, but minimal (and certainly not wallet-bustingly comprehensive) view of jazz; and within that genre I have never heard anything quite as good as Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue. I so want to feel the same way about Sketches Of Spain, and quite like Bitches Brew. Aside from that, I've got Coltrane's Blue Train, which is good. That's about it. Oh, and Duke Ellington's soundtrack to Anatomy Of A Murder. Like I said, minimal.

...which you can get for less than a fiver which is just sublime.

Because so many of the classic jazz recordings were made more than fifty years ago it's possible to assemble a really good collection of the classics for about what it would cost you to go and see REM live for the nth time.

I think Coltrane's Blue Train is more than good. It was my real entry point to jazz after a couple of years of trying it but not really getting it. Also try Giant Steps by Coltrane. Don't try A Love Supreme until you're well versed in jazz.
Oliver Nelson - The Blues And The Abstract Truth - fabulous
Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus and Newk's Time
Charles Mingus - Ah Um
Dexter Gordon - Go and Our Man In Paris
There are so many Miles Davis albums to choose from. But a reasonable selection could come from any of the quartet of albums on Prestige by the Miles Davis Quintet from the 50's Walkin'; Cookin'; Relaxin'& Steamin'. Round About Midnight is the same quintet's 1st album for Columbia. John Coltrane was a member of this quintet.
Also Porgy and Bess by Miles. Birth Of The Cool
Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans - Peace Piece is one of the most beautiful bits of music you could ever hear in your life. Also try Bill's Portrait In Jazz.
Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell vol 3 and Time Waits

Miles Davis' Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud to that list - fantastic soundtrack...

Ease yourself away from the Brit horrors with St Germain's 'Tourist' album of 2000 - particularly 'Sure Thing'.

Then, get some blues Hammond thrills with Jimmy McGriff's I've Got A Woman album (or even a best of).
Jimmy knows Where It's At.

Oscar Peterson's 'Night Train' album couldn't offend anyone.
Duke Ellington's well worth checking out. Steely Dan knew this. A compilation is always a good investment.
Try some of the Blue Note comps as well. Loads in HMV.
Kind Of Blue is the gold standard. Discover where James Brown nicked 'Cold Sweat's riff.
Dave Brubeck's 'Time Out'. Classic
Bill Evans - Waltz For Debbie - superb pianist.
Kenny Burrel's 'Midnight Blue'
...and if anyone mentions Acker Bilk or Kenny G, it is legally permissible to kill them.

Another vote for Mingus' "Ah Um", Jimmy Smith's "Back At the Chicken Shack" and "Roots Down", Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and "Blue Train". "A Love Supreme" and "Kind of Blue" are, as everyone will tell you, very good.

Chet Baker - The Best of Chet Baker Sings
Anything from the 50's is good in particular his singing albums.

The Getz/Gilberto and Jazz Samba by Charlie Byrd/ Stan Getz are must haves

Ernest Ranglin - Below The Bassline
Acoustic, Reggae, Jazz - if you like Buena Vista you'll love this.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Barney Kessel - almost anything

The Ella and Louis Armstrong teams up are magical

Oscar Peterson - Nightrain

Both Miles and Coltrane have 'Love Songs' compilations which no doubt appall the purists but which are a relatively easy way into the genre I think.

As far as the 'classics' are concerned, I would suggest the following, adding my votes to some already mentioned plus a couple of others:

Miles:
Kind of Blue
Sketches of Spain
Porgy and Bess
In a Silent Way

Coltrane:
Giant Steps
A Love Supreme

Cannonball Adderley:
Somethin' Else

Chet Baker:
My Funny Valentine
Chet Baker Sings!

Whatever the critics tell you, I should steer clear of Bitches Brew for now...

I was just about to take out a subscription and you lot start talking about Bl**dy JAZZ. Jazz like prog is music boys like because it's complicated and they think girls will be impressed, they are genrally not.
Oh and sketches of spain is unlistenable after the first track which is that tune they play in Brassed off you know Orange Juice... don't listen to Jazz listen to Coldplay, Dido anything but Jazz.

Jury's out on Coltrane's A Love Supreme as far as I'm concerned.
Bought it because I thought I should, (never a good idea) but it's not run the whole way through without requests to eject. Not recommended as a starter.

Louis Armstrong's "St James Infirmary" features the best last verse in popular music:

When I die, want you to dress me in straght laced shoes
A box back coat and a Stetson hat;
Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain
So the boys know I died standin' pat.

"Pat" means solvent, in good standing, debt-free.

Why do people (generally) feel they should "get into Jazz or Classical", no one feels oblidged to get into "pop". Is it because Jazz and classical are some how spiritually good for you ,sort of aural superfoods unlike the tarterzine laden pop and rock, you are a instantly a better person just by listening to them. I'll leave you to it.
* gets up from desk and lays down with wet flannel on brow until calms down*

Now when I die, don't bury me deep
Just put some women to my head and my feet
Tell all the world now to come and peep
Long Tall Shorty now has gone to sleep

Possibly more fun than a decent coat and a stetson, but they'd both keep you warm.

It depends what is your "bag" (thats a jazz phrase ok!!) and personally I think that the golden period of Jazz music and the one that flicks my switch, was really bookended by two releases by Miles Davis. One in the mid-fifties called Milestones and one in the early 70's called On the Corner (just re-released). Just to touch the surface....

If you want the 1950's small group, improv jazz then its zenith is Kind of Blue, the bestselling jazz record of all time and rightly so a gilt edged classic. Bill Evans (most of his stuff is pretty good and fairly mellow) and John Coltrane both play on this record. Milestones is also up there for this stuff. As is Coltranes Night Train and an LP of his just called Coltrane and My Favourite Things (another classic). Also Live At Birdland. And Cannonball Adderly's Somethin Else.

If you like Miles Davis's work from the late fifties and early/mid sixties (ESP, Nefertiti,Miles in the Sky- all good) check out his sidemens Blue Note LP's in particular Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage and Wayne Shorters Adams Apple and Speak No Evil. Both great and you probably can't go wrong with most of their Blue Note LP's from the sixties.

Miles was moving away from acoustic instrumentation at the end of the 60's towards funk and rock and the LP Filles De Kilimanjaro, which is great, is on the cusp of this change. And then check Miles' In A Silent Way for mellow ambience and Bitches Brew for a jazz/rock/funk collision (this is one takes some time...)

And do check out Love Supreme, it is also rightly a classic if pretty intense.

If you want more old-fashioned jazz music with strings then sure go for the Gil Evans/Miles Davis collaberations (Porgy and Bess - for my money is better than Sketches of Spain). Not my favourite stuff - the jazz music my dad would like.

If you want free jazz then go for Ornette Colemans the Shape of Jazz To Come. Saw him live once and I didn't really enjoy it - a bit too much for my taste. Also avoid any post Love Supreme John Coltrane if you do not like the more dischordant aspects of Jazz. (I bought an Lp called Ascension By Coltrane as I was too young to know better and, guess what, it is unlistenable!)

For the funkier side of things check Freddie Hubbards Straight Life and First Light and Donald Byrds Blackbyrd. Both I think late sixties/early seventies - more straight forwardly rhythmic and a lot of people who say they don't like jazz like this stuff.

On a more up to date record check Tomasz Stankos Suspended Night recorded a few years back - very mellow, has a very Miles Davis tone, but great.

Its whole world of exploration and sometimes the albums take time to reveal themselves but once you get the bug you can't let go.

Some people (clearly!) just don't get jazz and I think a lot of that is because rhythmically there is not the familiar beat everpresent in most non-classical music. One way to get round this is to start with the funkier stuff which does have that familiar beat... its all basically the blues.

There are many many many great jazz records - Monk, Mingus, Parker, Blakey, Rollins - the list is endless.The way I grew my collection was from checking the sidemens LP's out from a record that I loved..in my case it started with Kind of Blue. I'm jealous - you are at the beginning of a great musical journey.

While I have been writing this I see that several of the more lumpen elements of the word blog are trying to dissuade you from jazzzzzzz - don't be. As Carl P has already mentioned there is only good music or bad music. You can't write off a whole genre. And Miles Playing My Funny Valentine is amazing...

As befitting a man who claimed Saturn as his birthplace, Sun Ra frequently lorded over some rather impenetrable music. He was a man of broad talents and when the mood for something more melodic took hold of him, was capable of composing the kind of gentle cosmic jazz that you could imagine accompanying period adaptations of pulp 1920s Sci-fi.

A good entry point to this accessible side of the man's intimidating canon is the twofer of We Travel The Spaceways/Bad & Beautiful. The former contains two personal favourites of mine:

Tapestry From An Asteroid simultaneously conjures up images of 1940s ballroom dances and the colourful trail left by a comet on its lonely journey through the void.

New Horizons begins with the kind of dramatic solo piano that ordinarily accompanies scenes of heartbreak in old black and white films, but gives way to sleepy solo trumpet and shaken bells.

I have some jazz mags - If you're prepared to put some effort in and knuckle down. Could be handy.

but when you get your ears round some of the suggestions here, you'll need a much bigger one!

Artists not already mentioned:

Horace Silver - try "Song For My Father"
Grant Green - try "Idle Moments"
Lee Morgan - try "The Sidewinder"
Marion Montgomery - try "I Gotta Right to Sing"
Antonio Carlos Jobim - try "Stone Flower"

There are a small number of VERY influential record labels that can serve as a pointer into all sorts of Jazz; Blue Note, Verve, Columbia and Prestige for a start.

I'd recommend you start by buying a couple of Blue Note samplers (take care - there are several clunkers among the many good ones - use the reviews on Amazon as a good guide) and take it from there...

Best of luck getting a second mortgage.

...have Eric Dolphy's 'Out To Lunch' as one of the first jazz albums you hear. Accessible it isn't! It put me off for a while, but here are some jazz albums I enjoy;

Miles Davis- Kind Of Blue, Sketches Of Spain, In A Silent Way, Jack Johnson (a pretty rocky album, this), On The Corner (a bit funkier), Bitches Brew and Live Evil (both of these are quite dark and difficult so I wouldn't recommend them as a first port of call)

John Coltrane- My Favourite Things, A Love Supreme

Charles Mingus- Mingus Ah Um, Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (alongside A Love Supreme this is my favourite I've heard so far)

Dave Brubeck- Take Five

Duke Ellington- Far East Suite

Stan Tracey- Under Milk Wood; Jazz Suite (good British jazz album)

Joe Harriott- Indo Jazz Fusion (I understand a lot of his work tends towards the 'free' spectrum so I haven't checked much else out)

I'm personally more into the jazz rock of the late 60s and 70s- Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Soft Machine, some of Frank Zappa's stuff, Colosseum, Return To Forever, Brand X et al. What worked for me was to get into these first and then I could grasp the jazz albums a bit better, as those 60s and 70s bands had rock elements I could relate to.

....of something Tony Wilson said, that it was the last reserve of the untalented and that only jazz musicians enjoy listening to jazz musicians.

I think that's a stunningly blinkered thing to say, myself; some people actually like hearing musicians just playing. The same with prog (although I wouldn't say jazz was like prog- it's more improvised than most prog, in my personal experience); it's this weird thing that some have which assumes that music 'should' be short and 'should' have 'instant' tunes. I reject any ideas of what music 'should' be myself; there are far too many British bands at present that are way too conformist and seemingly have not heard anything else beyond The Clash and Television.

people really, really like jazz. can't help it. complaining about it is like - and as pointless - as complaining about The Beatles.

Spend some time listening to the wireless. Start here. Hang out with Humphrey Littleton and Geoffrey Smith. They will help you discover what you like, because "jazz" is as all-encompassing a concept as "rock". (And as prone to infighting.)

Try his band backing Sinatra, not just a great jazz album, one of the best live albums ever
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sinatra-At-Sands-Frank/dp/B000002K9N/ref=sr_1_1?...

and there's a great 4 disc box set which will turn any car journey into a swingin' good time! under a tenner on Amazon marketplace
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Count-Basie-Story/dp/B000059RI2/ref=sr_1_39?ie=U...

go on, you know you want to....

If you fancy a comprehensive compilation which gives a precis of most genres and many artists, try Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music. This 5 CD set is the soundtrack for his excellent TV series. Thoroughly recommended.

Gavin

I've got an article I printed off from a blog a couple of years ago about 1959 being the most creative year in jazz history. It lists the following, all released in that year:
Miles David - Kind of Blue
John Coltrane - Giant Steps
Dave Brubeck - Time Out
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
Bill Evans Trio - Portrait in Jazz
Charlie mingus - Mingus Ah Um
Duke Ellingtom - Anatomy of a Murder
Horace Silver - Blowin' the Blues Away
Ella Fitzgerald - Sings the Gershwin Songbook
Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain (recorded in 59, released in 60)

like Chico Hamilton Quintet In Hi-Fi is from the top drawer too...

Spent three years at college studying jazz and a little bit of popular music. This clip is maybe a good starting point.

In the first few seconds, from the quiet start of the bass to the end of Billie's first vocal line, it's all there already. And then that sax starts to play...

If you don't understand why this is wonderful, you are already dead from the ears down.

and here are some beautiful records you really should listen to...

Clifford Brown - Clifford Brown With Strings (Verve 558 078-2)

Charles Mingus - Blues & Roots (Atlantic 8112-75360-2)

Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (Columbia CK 65512)

Oscar Peterson Trio - Oscar Peterson Trio + One Clark Terry (Verve 558 075-2)

Thelonious Monk - Alone In San Francisco (Riverside OJCCD-231-2)

The Gil Evans Orchestra - Out Of The Cool (Impulse! IMP 11862)

Johnny Hodges - Everybody Knows Johnny Hodges (Impulse! GRD-116)

Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges - Play The Blues Back To Back (Verve 541 404-2)

Duke Elllington & Johnny Hodges - Side By Side (Verve 521 405-2)

Miles Davis (& Gil Evans) - Sketches Of Spain

Miles Davis (& Gil Evans) - Miles Ahead

Miles Davis (& Gil Evans) - Porgy & Bess

Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue (Columbia CK 64935)

Miles Davis - In A Silent Way (Columbia CK 86556)

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (Impulse! 589 945-2)

John Coltrane - Olè (Atlantic 81227 3699-2)

You must hear Chelsea Bridge from Ben Webster meets Gerry Mulligan before you die - fantastic stuff.

Pretty much anything by Lester Young.

Art Pepper meets the Rhythm Section is a must as is Blue Serge by Serge Chaloff.

Obviously its impossible to overstate Charlie Parker's importance and influence - absolutely essential listening. Buy an album of his then buy all his sidemen's albums, and their sidemen's albums and so on and so on. Pretty soon you'll be broke, but happy.

I think we forget how much this music was not always part of the mainstream of its time. Here's a quote from a review of a biography of Billie Holiday:

"She was a junkie and an alcoholic; she had sex with many men and women; she was hot-tempered and ready to clock anyone who gave her grief. Yet the love emanating from these interviews flows never-ending. Holiday wasn't just adored by her fans (to an unusual degree for a nonsuperstar, although not for what today we call a cult artist); she was adored by her friends and colleagues, and the paucity of backbiting is a clue to her greatness. Most artists are selfish as a way of life, and Holiday would always take what was offered her, especially if it would get her high. But she was also great fun to be around, certainly up till her miserable end and often then, and generous by nature, by which I mean something less showy and manipulative than the impulsive largesse of a Presley or Sinatra. She attracted her circle not with her power or charisma but with her spirit."

It is interesting that most of the comments here have recommended music from the post be-bop era (although only three mentions for Charlie Parker, who was be-bop). Perhaps On The Road (the first rock'n'roll novel?) has something to answer for.

Another way into jazz might be through other artforms. (Dancing about architecture, anyone?!) I and others have mentioned elsewhere on this site the magnificent Round Midnight, which features Dexter Gordon as musician and architecture. The film of the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Jazz On A Summer's Day is also good. However, I don't think film is the best medium for this exploration -- it doesn't leave enough to the imagination. On The Road is a better taste of late 1950s jazz, but better still is Michael Ondaatje's first novel, Coming Through Slaughter, which is a structured, but improvisational, loose history of the life of Buddy Bolden, who widely regarded as the original jazzman (an impression probably assisted by the fact that there are no recordings of his playing. It has been called the greatest novel about jazz ever written.

Whatever you decide to listen to, remember that It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing). Once you can identify and relate to the concept of 'swing', you understand jazz.

You may find that following certain instruments is a way into the music. For clarinets, try Sidney Bechet, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Lester Young and Wally Fawkes. Tenor saxophonists are legion: we have already heard many recommendations for John Coltrane, but seek out also Lester Young (Billie Holiday's best musical partner), Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Bill Evans, Budd Freeman, Jan Garbarek, Courtney Pine and Andy Sheppard.

You will have spotted a few non-Americans in those lists. Don't forget the development of jazz on this side of the Atlantic. It's not all Acker Bilk and Stéphane Grappelli. Try Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, the Danish bass player, Bent Persson, the Swedish trumpeter, or Kai Winding, the Danish trombonist.

You go out for a couple of drinks after work, and get back and we're already 60 comments deep into a jazz thread.

Is there a reason why no-one has mentioned Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock? Seems like a good starting place to me....

I'd also place another vote for The Shape Of Jazz To Come by Coleman. It was pretty much the first Jazz CD I heard and I've no idea what made me reach out and pick it off the library shelf that day.

For guitarists out there I would also recommend anything by the amazing Martin Taylor and Pat Metheny. His live album "The Road To You" is sublime. Even if you don't like jazz, chances are you will like these.

Watch how Taylor plays walking bass lines and chords at the same time. Great. You'll recognise the tune when you hear it.

And it's still my favourite music video ever.

From 1944, Lester Young and pals in Jammin' the Blues.

Some smoke, a hat, a sax. . . it's Lester, followed by the best rendition ever of "Sunny Side of the Street" (Marie Bryant - why was that woman never famous?) and some ooh-yeah jiveass lindy-hoppin' to round off ten minutes of bliss.

Amidst the usual suspects (Kind Of Blue, Giant Steps, Ah Um etc etc) that get trotted out on such occasions, might I steer you in the direction of these unsung but rather wonderful records? No existing appreciation nor understanding of jazz is required to dig these crazy records, man: -

David Axelrod 'Heavy Axe'Milestone/BGP CDBGPM 121
(The hugest of huge productions. Amazing phat beats. When nothing else will do. Blows sub-woofers to bits)

Patricia Barber 'A Distortion Of Love' Island/Antilles 512235 2
(Guaranteed sob-inducing fragility of voice. Watch grown men weep, etc.)

Oscar Peterson 'Motions & Emotions' MPS 821289 2
(The boss of all bossa. Hated by jazz snobs everywhere. Drenched in strings and cheese. A career best for the late departed)

Antonio Carlos 'Stone Flower' CTI/Epic ZK 45480
(Incredibly disciplined 9 minute version of Brazil a pinnacle amidst orchestrated heaven)

Ben Sidran 'I Lead A Life' Blue Thumb BTS 40
(Funky and slinkily laid back. Horizontal. When A Woman Say She Ready is 8-minutes of narcotic haze)

Coleman Hawkins 'Desafinado' Impulse! IMP 12272
(Hawk rides and rasps the bossa wave. Sophistication distilled).

Donald Byrd 'Places & Spaces' Blue Note CDP 854326 2
(Mid-70s funkateer wipeout. Hated by purists. Listen again - swooping strings, trumpet stabs, cool voices. A Cortina classic).

Stanley Turrentine 'Salt Song' Columbia/CTI ZK 65126
(Staggering blend of Brasil, gospel & blues. An instant jazz record collection).

Can I recommend Michael Garrick's incredible Moonscape album? Could we be British Jazz's finest, most beatiful moment. Now available on Trunk

Wouldn't it be a good series to have in the mag "How to buy.....jazz, country, rap, prog etc etc. There have been lots of threads like this.

Jazz - as with all other African-American "roots" genres: blues, real soul, real R&B and funk - is loose and undefined almost by, er, definition.

And another thing. Has anybody ever met a black jazz purist?

And another other thing. Why have jazz purists never been ridiculed and put in their place as stroppy, anoraky pillocks like the folk purists were in the mid-Sixties? Does jazz need its own Bob Dylan to come along? (Actually, he's probably been and gone, and his name was Miles Davis.)

Anything by Charles Mingus or Duke Ellington is a good start. All quite accessible but full of subtlety and invention.
Don't start off with John Coltrane or Eric Dolphy; it would be like trying to master HTML before you know how to use Windows.

I agree with most of what' been said, but am a little surprised that Sonny hasn't had more of a shout. I would start with Saxophone Collosus, or Tenor Madness. Also if you're coming to Jazz from a rock/indie background you may find some of the more contemporary artists a good place to begin. I would particularly single out Esbjorn Svensson Trio, Acoustic Ladyland, The Bad Plus, John Schofield, Jan Garbarek, Chris Potter, David Binney, and Brad Mehldau as all worthy of investigation.

Probably listen to jazz more than any other music...bugger knows why I subscribe to The Word. Particularly like piano jazz - some recent stuff I've enjoyed:

Tord Gustavsen Trio - late night ECM stuff that gets pilloried by the jazz establishment - but he writes a decent lovely tune...much better than EST

Lynne Ariale Trio - just a very good player and Bill Evans-trio like telepathy with her musicians

Bill Charlap Trio - several albums on Blue Note worth looking at - nice straightahead player and his album of Leonard Bernstein tunes is really good

John Taylor - Whirlpool and Angel of Presence: both excellent from under-praised British jazz pianist

Also enjoyed recent Thomasz Stanko stuff on ECM, Charlie Haden's Quartet West and also his stuff with John Taylor.

Would agree with others on here: John Coltrane (would remcommend the quartet stuff with Miles Davis - Steamin', Coolin' etc), Duke Ellington (as someone else said - Back to Back is a complete classic), Chet Baker (he released so much but his "Sings..." album still sounds great), Abdullah Ibrahim, Art Pepper (his later period post-drugs), Herbie Hancock/Maiden Voyage and particularly Bill Evans - any of the Village Vanguard sessions...in fact all of them.

So much of the classic 50s/60s jazz - particularly the Blue Note stuff - is now around 4 quid a pop at HMV etc...I'd just buy a handful and see how you get on. Or have a read of the Penguin Guide to Jazz - the late Richard Cook and Brian Morton's hefty tome is excellent.

In its favour the standard of LP cover art is Miles (sorry) higher than that of rock and pop.

My entry point was the early 70's when jazzers like Stanley Turrentine were happy to blow through things like Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man, indeed a whole label(CTI) was devoted to that kind of thing. I also retain a lingering affection for Carla Bley's Escalator over the Hill if only for the demented saxophone of Gato Barbieri and fret shredding of John McLaughlin. That reminds me that Barbieri did the soundtrack to Last Tango which I love.

A word or two in support of Chris Barber might be in order too.

Is it jazz or is it (shudder anxiously) new age": Officium by Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble. Sax and choral vocals. Doesn't matter what it's genre is. It's music and it's miles better than all the bank adverty twaddle often lumped therewith.

what not to buy: i once bought 'the best of Al Di Meola' having heard the incredible solo on Paul Simon's Hearts And Bones (allergies II , i think). It is the biggest piece of shit i have ever heard. yes, he can play guitar, but it is just awful. i understand 'guitar synths' were harmed during the making of this rubbish.

i would also advise against 'Love Supreme'; Blue train (pretty good) Giant steps (great) but this is just too much (sound-wise) and not enough (melody-wise)

what to listen to: i'll assume you already own 'Kind of blue'

Esbjorn Svensson Trio (EST) are pretty good - Viaticum or seven days of falling. like Kind of Blue but with no horns and a little polite electronica here and there.

Spy vs. Spy by John Zorn. a collection of Ornette Coleman tunes played in a jazz-napalm death style (sax X 2, drums X2, double bass. VERY loud). side 2 (this is one of the last Lps i ever bought) is probably less likely to make you run away. i haven't played this since i was 20, which may be an important fact (i'm 36).

Sonny Rollins - his old stuff. in the 50s/60s he was regarded as being the equal of coltrane, and none of his stuff sounds like drilling into metal. 'Plus 4' or 'way out west' are good.

'Shape of jazz to come' Ornette Coleman. it may be free jazz, but don't let that put you off, it's very approachable.

About three or four years ago I started really getting into jazz and I listened to a few great jazz radio stations. As you can guess they were US based stations. I'd recommend KPLU or WBGO, both non profit stations. KPLU have a great show nightly from Midnight to 4 PST called 'Jazz From the Grooveyard' which is great.

Whilst listening to that they mentioned the Basic Jazz Library which is a primer about essential recordings. It can be found on www.npr.org Each album comes with an audio commentary.

The complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis and Gil Evans is currently available on iTunes for £6.99. That's 6 cd's worth, including Miles Ahead, Sketches of Spain, Quiet Nights, Porgy & Bess and more.

The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions are also there for £9.99 (5 cds), as is the Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (4cds, £7.99)

If you ever wanted a legal and virtually no-risk introduction to some wonderful jazz, fill yer boots.

It is a very good offer though. Just bought the Jack Johnson one myself.