Jazz for someone who doesn't like jazz.

Few (or more) different tunes, different styles, different players, different intstruments, all classics.
Jazz might be confusing if you start with  bebob or free, but these links are all easy on ears, some with catchy melodies, in random order
If you like any of them, will post few more or tell you which albums to look for...there is a vast sea of jazz music, hope you will like it and start to listen...its never to late

https://youtu.be/gwaFDFP7m_E

https://youtu.be/mP0flneNfaQ

https://youtu.be/p51MT5OMw-I

https://youtu.be/GXhXkYw3FmI

https://youtu.be/kUVNIJl6h38

https://youtu.be/BrA7FBpJnjQ

https://youtu.be/oP-vD4ScAGA

https://youtu.be/8B1oIXGX0Io

https://youtu.be/cNjRQo-zpKA

https://youtu.be/Tp572lvYrl8

https://youtu.be/JTNed4lhryw

https://youtu.be/jsFST-7Hx-Y

https://youtu.be/1HDciWO-fVs

https://youtu.be/dG-RLgDabRs

https://youtu.be/0B_wGRk3W28

https://youtu.be/VhgUUe5czxc

https://youtu.be/0Qnb01EqzFs

https://youtu.be/RK4WlatYV38

https://youtu.be/4rmXbiD3Jog

https://youtu.be/PoPL7BExSQU

https://youtu.be/uLAycSRHN98

https://youtu.be/Mcr1AtIhEgA

https://youtu.be/jBo870lVUyc

https://youtu.be/gYMYIo6RNT0

https://youtu.be/HgQEwbM9AUE

https://youtu.be/EDLifqaldeA

https://youtu.be/tro3r_DKDdY

https://youtu.be/KCEl4FGVR7I

So, blues, after just a short intro, you can tell: that’s Buddy Guy’s guitar, or BB King’s, or Jonny Lang, you can tell that’s Little Walter’s harmonica, .... Delta Blues, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Son House, ... you quickly recognize both their instrument’s sound and voice. And you know which one’s you came to like/love/don’t after a while. You also know which instruments you like more than others.

It’s the same for Jazz. You find what primary instruments and whose voice you respond to, you will eventually find which jazz support players you like, and seek out their musical projects (hearing them supporting others has a lot to do with proper recording/engineering). Then, within your preferred artists, good/bad/great recordings. Don’t let ’sounds great on my system’ be a large factor too early.

I presume you are going to start via Pandora, ... IOW something FREE, to hone in on what you might eventually spend money on. Then, you risk some hard earned cash, mostly successful, some disappointing.

Start a station, i.e. piano: a master, not a singular star, meaning: don’t try Miles Davis too early, don’t try Thelonius Monk too early, try Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, .... Red Garland, Earl Fatha’ Hines, let it run for a few days, don’t try to isolate anyone too early, just let it flow.

There are ’eras’, progressive, especially Saxophone, you have the modern ability to do a quick search, learn something, pick an artist, start a Pandora station, all within 1 minute, for free.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jazz+era+timeline&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS881US881&oq=jazz+era&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l7.6057j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8


.

Bob James, FourPlay, Four 80 East, Chris Standring, Rippingtons, Dave Grusin, David Benoit, George Benson ...

n80

You’re going to get zillions of suggestions, any of which might or might not do much for you.

Unfortunately I find that Jazz is a gourmet dish (much like Classical). It demands certain conditions before it can be fully savoured, (for me a fast deep bass response and good timbral definition is a must). Otherwise,without those 2 key ingredients, it can like most gourmet food, often leave a disappointingly weak taste.

Pop music on the other hand is much like fast food - a dish that can be more or less enjoyed by anyone, anywhere.

Having said all that, my suggestion would be almost anything by Bill Evans.

If you stream, I suggest "The Jazz Groove" out of S.F. You will get a good selection of "laid back" Also Jazz24 out of Seattle will give you some good exposure. You might find some artists that you enjoy. Jazz is my favorite music idiom.