A couple of weeks ago, my brother in Seattle called and asked if I could recommend a few jazz CDs for his 20-year-old son who had expressed an interest. A starter kit, if you will.

I’ve had like requests many, many times over the years, and so it dawned on me: Why not publish one?

Here’s a 10-CD jazz primer designed to lure those curious about the genre into being, if not hooked, at least satisfied enough to continue a jazz quest. Being a jazzbo like me can be lonely these days, so the more folks I can recruit the better.

Before we get started, a few words about criteria. I didn’t attempt to cover all the bases in jazz history. The idea here is seduction through listenability, while offering a solid overview. I may love 1930s Duke Ellington, but to the uninitiated it tends to sound like music from old cartoons. Likewise, I dig Albert Ayler, but most people would hear it as squawky noise and want to plug their ears.

That said, this is no dumbed-down list. Most of the titles are recognized classics, and a few will pose a challenge, especially for those who like their music sensible and orderly.

There are many overlapping players on these discs, but I purposely limited artists to one title.

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (Columbia/Sony, 1959)

This is always the first album I recommend to the jazz curious. The ultimate gateway drug — gorgeous, intimate and expansive at the same time. Kind of Blue is probably the most widely revered jazz record of all time, and for good reason. Simple, grabby melodic sketches give way to extended solos by one of the greatest lineups ever assembled, including Miles on trumpet, John Coltrane on tenor sax, Cannonball Adderley on alto sax and Bill Evans on piano. The music is dark and moody yet somehow comforting.

This article appears in Dec 31, 2008 – Jan 6, 2009.