Who was your first

My Grandma used to let me play her 78's of Ella, Ellington, Hawkins & Lester Young when I was about 4 years old, on an old wind-up gramaphone and then Dave Brubeck was probably a re-awakening about 8 years later.
I suppose 55 years later and still adding to my 12000+ collection of vinyl & c.d.'s, you could say that I'm hooked on jazz.

Was into prog-rock, back in the 70's, so my first expansion into "jazz" was progressive. perhaps Return to Forever or one of those prog-jazz bands of the time. I know I litened to lots of things in that vein as I entered college and was exposed to it by my new dorm friends. RTF, Coryell, Holdsworth, Caldera, McLaughlin, etc.

Enjoy,
Bob

When I was a teenager my mom owned Billy Joel's album 52nd street. In the song Zanzibar, Freddie Hubbard blows a trumpet solo that, when I first heard it, I listened to over and over. I decided then and there that I liked this jazz stuff. Freddie Hubbard is a long way down on my list of jazz favorites, but I cannot deny that his Zanzibar solo truly was the gateway drug for me.

Goldeneraguy,

I can take or leave "Feels So Good" these days though it was a big breakthrough hit for the guy back in the 70's.

The Mangione album I still own, play with some regularity and really enjoy is "Tarantella".

Does "Chicago" count?

How about "Blood Sweat and Tears"?.

Didn't a lot of folks get first exposure to some finer and more accessible elements of Jazz through these guys?