While rock tends to be defined as prog rock/hard rock/rockabilly and so on, jazz is often just treated as one genre. It's a bit hard to know what people would like when they ask for recommendations in jazz.
In the thread
expand your horizons, I posted this post that gives an example of some flavours of jazz that I like. I'll repost it here for you
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I'm not
really into jazz .. I like it a lot, but it's not what I play most. Also, just asking for jazz is like asking for recommendations on metal. You don't know if they want Dio or Korpiklaani. Anyways!
I think an easy entry into jazz is to check out the cream from last decades swing revival. Squirrel Nut Zippers is my favourite of the bunch and their album "Perennial Favorites" is excellent. I also wrote a review on it in my journal. I have one album by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy called "Americana Deluxe" and although it's not as diverse, it's also good.
This is not the track I wanted to show, but the selection off youtube is not really extensive. It's Squirrel Nut Zippers opening track from Perennial Favorites (released in 1997).
If you like gypsy jazz reminiscent of old Django Reinhardt, I can recommend Joe Pass album "For Django" (1964) or Bireli Lagrene's "Gipsy Project & Friends" (2002).
The video above shows Bireli and his gang playing Django's jazz standard, Minor Swing.
If you like more trippy electronica jazz with a bit of drum n bass and other stuff thrown in, then you could have a look at Jaga Jazzist from Norway or perhaps Kyoto Jazz Massive from Japan.
The video above shows Jaga Jazzist song Animal Chin from their 2001 album "A Livingroom Hush" which got good reviews in Norway.
If you want more prog-jazz fusion stuff, I think you should check out the Canterbury scene's legendary Soft Machine. The following video is from the last half of the last track on their album "Third" from 1970. Also try out Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever or Weather Report, all of which are perhaps more accessible than Soft Machine.
Guys like Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Herbie Han**** or John Coltrane shouldn't need an introduction since they are all still immensely popular. I have Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" from 1965 and I like it a lot. It's also critically acclaimed. "Miles Ahead" (1957) and "Kind of Blue" (1957) by Miles Davis are awesome .. I also got Bitches Brew on a recommendation here, but I've yet to listen to it. It's also easy to get box sets from all these artists.
In the youtube-vid, you can see Miles Davis and John Coltrane together playing "So What", the opening track on "Kind of Blue".
If you think you might like avant-garde jazz, try Bill Frisell. The following vid shows him playing Shenandoah which is from his 1999 album "Good Dog, Happy Man" ..
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