I want to be introduced to jazz music...?

[John Lennon]

I love the sound of jazz music and I often go to jazz clubs to listen to local bands.
What good jazz bands are out there to get me started with jazz? Thanks

 

[Daniel John]

As a jazz musician myself, I can point you in a lot of ways. Here are some of my favorite groups from pretty much the beginning to cats that are playing today...

Louis Armstrong
Miles Davis
Ella Fitzgerald
Modern Jazz Quartet
Sonny Rollins
Caribbean Jazz Project
Stefon Harris
E.S.T.

 

[Dachele]

I know Chrisette Michele has a good jazzy sound to her music, YouTube her!

 

[joe.attaboy]

You might get a better flavor of real jazz by listening to some of the classic recordings. People will offer you different opinions on who is great and what albums are essential, but here's a list of titles you should consider. All of these are well-known albums by the most important artists in jazz. These tend to be older releases, but the provide a great foundation. They're not listed in any specific order, mostly by how much I like them.

I cannot imagine my jazz collection without these:

John Coltrane - "Giant Steps"
Miles Davis - "Kind of Blue"
Thelonious Monk - "Thelonious In Action"
Bill Evans - "Portrait In Jazz"
Charlie Parker - "The Complete Dial Sessions"
Dexter Gordon - "Go!"
Louis Armstrong and King Oliver (find the Heritage Jazz CD)
Wynton Marsalis - "Standard Time, Vol. 1"
Pat Martino - "Think Tank"
Sonny Rollins - "Tenor Madness"
Marcus Roberts - "The Truth Is Spoken Here"

Duke Ellington "The Best of Duke Ellington" (this is a good sampler)
http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-Duke-Ellington/dp/B001OX7KQ4/ref=dm_ap_alb2?ie=UTF8&qid=1278882264&sr=301-1

I can't imagine them without these, either, but you might want to listen to these after you've acquired a taste for the genre. These recordings are far more avant garde and a bit "out there."
Yest, they're all fun to hear, especially the Sun Ra set.

Cecil Taylor - "Unit Structures"
Ornette Coleman - "Free Jazz"
Eric Dolphy - "Out To Lunch"
Sun Ra - "Live At Montreux"

That should get you started.