Gawdbless,
I really appreciate where you are. I was at the same place about three or four years ago. My jazz collection has grown substantially since. Good luck on your quest. I got a lot of good advice on this forum on artists. Lots of great suggestions here, Jazzbird and others have covered many great artists. I would add a few in no particular order; Tord Gustavsen, Gene Ammons is not to be missed. Also, I really like Concord Jazz artists Scott Hamilton, Ray Brown, Toshiko Akiyoshi (is dynamite) et.al. Paul Desmond, LA 4, Gerry Mulliagan. Red Garland is great. If you like drums, Art Blakey-Drum Suite. Also, Andre Previn is known for classical but he did some great jazz. Don't forget Charlie Haden and Kenny Barron. A hearty second on often over looked Hank Jones also. There is a lot of great drumming on the Blue Note bop recordings of many of the artists mentioned above. To me one of the great things about the genre is not just the individual artists but all the great collaberations between them.
I really appreciate where you are. I was at the same place about three or four years ago. My jazz collection has grown substantially since. Good luck on your quest. I got a lot of good advice on this forum on artists. Lots of great suggestions here, Jazzbird and others have covered many great artists. I would add a few in no particular order; Tord Gustavsen, Gene Ammons is not to be missed. Also, I really like Concord Jazz artists Scott Hamilton, Ray Brown, Toshiko Akiyoshi (is dynamite) et.al. Paul Desmond, LA 4, Gerry Mulliagan. Red Garland is great. If you like drums, Art Blakey-Drum Suite. Also, Andre Previn is known for classical but he did some great jazz. Don't forget Charlie Haden and Kenny Barron. A hearty second on often over looked Hank Jones also. There is a lot of great drumming on the Blue Note bop recordings of many of the artists mentioned above. To me one of the great things about the genre is not just the individual artists but all the great collaberations between them.