Having an ear for Jazz

I started in my early thirtys to listen to smooth jazz. In my 40s I progressed to improv. jazz and have aquired the taste very well. I still rock out from time to time.
True jazz is an aquired taste. Don't you remember when you couldn't understand why people were listening to a band were all the musicians are playing a different song and met at the end?

Within the last 2 years I've amassed a small but selective and varied jazz collection on CD/SACD from smooth jazz (Larry Carlton, Chris Botti, etc) to the traditional giants (Coltrane, Davis, Getz, Pepper, Chambers, etc).

I really really enjoy jazz.

Then again, being a teenager of the 70's, I'll put on the Sabbath from time to time and still rock.

It's aalllll good! :-)

Don't forget to add Chet Baker and Paul Desmond to your play lists.

I am with Erikt. It's all good. I still rock out as a child of the 70s, but I have found as I have gotten older that some genres of music that I didn't quite "get" before make a lot more sense now. Starting back playing the guitar after 30 years has brought me back to the roots of rock music--blues especially. So, I have really enjoyed getting to the heart of things on this journey and rediscovering Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Albert King, Elvis, Johnny Cash, etc. In terms of jazz, I always enjoyed the nonlinearity of it as a fan of bands like the Dead. But now that I have a turntable and have some old original 50s and 60s pressings, I really enjoy hearing jazz played as it was meant to be heard. Late at night, lights down, glass in hand, wow.

I listened to a little jazz until my 40's when jazz exploded for me. Now its mostly jazz with some pop, soul, funk, r&b, jazz fusion, progressive rock, and hard rock mixed in. Hard Bop is my love now though.