Move 1: Listen Like a Baby, Not a Critic

Forget analyzing chords for now. Your first job is to absorb the feeling. Put on a classic album—Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue or John Coltrane’s Blue Train—and do nothing else. No phone, no book. Just listen. Let the sound wash over you. Notice the tone of the saxophone, the pulse of the bass, the spaces between the notes. Your ear needs to get comfortable before your brain can understand.

Move 2: Steal One Simple Groove

Jazz rhythm (swing) feels different. It’s a lilt, a push-and-pull. Don't try to intellectualize it—embody it. Find a simple, iconic groove like the bass line from Sonny Rollins’ "St. Thomas" or the head-nodding swing of Art Blakey’s "Moanin’". Tap it on your steering wheel, hum it in the shower. Make it a physical part of you.

Move 3: Learn the "Story" of One Standard

Jazz is built on standards—songs everyone knows. Pick one, like "Summertime" or "All the Things You Are." Learn its story: the melody (the "what"), the basic chord progression (the "where"), and the mood (the "why"). Use a lead sheet. Don't worry about improvisation yet. Just be able to follow the song's journey from start to finish.

Move 4: Build a Tiny Listening Toolkit

You don't need a thousand albums. You need a foundational toolkit. Here’s a starter pack across eras:

Listen to one a week. Let your taste develop naturally.

Move 5: Embrace the "Wrong" Note

This is the most important move. Jazz is a language of risk and recovery. If you play an instrument, try this: put on a slow blues backing track and play just one note. Repeat it. Bend it. Play it early, play it late. Now add a second note. It will feel awkward. It will sound "wrong." That's the point. The magic is in how you connect them, how you make them feel intentional. Awkward is the first step to authentic.