trying to learn more about the jazz idiom.

apart from going to live shows, the following texts and recordings provided direction to learn to appreciate the art form.

• How to listen to jazz - Ted Gioia.
  Covers the history, evolution and genres of jazz from blues to modern with many examples and lists of standards to listen to, as well as personal takes and interesting stories on legendary figures.
• The jazz standards : a guide to the repetoire - Ted Gioia.
  A large selection of standards, and more importantly, each with many recommended versions by different artists to listen to.
• Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology
  List of modern must-listen songs that shaped the jazz world into what it was today.
  Disc 1 Disc 2 Disc 3 Disc 4 Disc 5 Disc 6