Some tasty selections noted above. I'll chime in with the following: Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain Cal Tjader - Soul Sauce Wynton Kelly - Kelly Blue Big John Patton - Let Em Roll Cannonball Adderly - African Waltz Lonnie Smith - Live At Club Mozambique Lou Donaldson - Hot Dog Grant Green - Alive Bobby Hutcherson - San Francisco (special nod to Bay Area cats) Blue Mitchell - Graffiti Blues (an all time favorite) For me, it's all about taking your time and enjoying the exploration.
Hear, hear, especially with Jazz. OTOH the Jazz junkies I know massively hoard everything they can get their hands on. Josh's comment about not knowing where to start and feeling overwhelmed remind me of what a lot of people say about Classical music as well. If you're interested but don't necessarily have your chronological bearings (not to mention which conductors/orchestras/performers to pay attention to) it can be really intimidating. For me the "slow and steady" approach yielded many rewards over the years. Follow your heart and your ears and enjoy the journey. All music is related to all other music.
