My "introduction" was the purchase (second hand) of two 78s, one was Dodo Marmarosa, Mellow Mood, don't recall the artist or title of the other my father who was under the impression that there was only classical music, particularly Beethoven and opera, I still strongly dislike most opera, except those by early composers like Purcell, Monteverdi etc. He did allow some Victorian songs like come into the garden Maude, Lost chord etc and did perform them in almost a boy's treble round the family piano. The other records that sometimes got played were comedy numbers by the likes of Spike Jones and Arthur Askey.
Soon after that I got fed up with the home restrictions and joined the RAF in '51, the NAAFI canteen at a training school had a decent music set up and played a lot of Kenton, Earl Bostik, Muddy Waters, Muggsy Spanier etc, as well as current "pop" like Kay Starr, Les Paul and Mary Ford etc, occasional revisits kept me "topped up" until late 1954 when I started two and a half years in the middle east, then Voice of America's Music USA was a nightly must (except for a few jars on payday once a fortnight) and some time spent in the church choir and associated church club, (I was also singing using the "family" unbroken voice, usually taking the alto line, but moving up to Soprano line occasionally when numbers were low.)
Music USA introduced me to far more than just Dodo Marmarosa, and is probably the major influence on my jazz listening, in '55 moving from Egypt to Iraq, I found there was a jazz club, mostly leaning towards "modern " as we then called it; Brubeck and Mulligan featured strongly, I moved on to Cyprus in '56 and again Music USA became regular listening, I also bought a decent radio and a turntable and started buying records, Mary Lou Williams, Elgart, Lunceford, and Mel Powell with Quinichette on "Borderline" one of the mid 50s Vanguard series.
On return to UK I got together with other like minded jazz listeners and we would go into Birmingham to JATP and other concerts, I saw and heard Ella, Jimmy Giuffre, Shelley Manne, MJQ, and numerous others, but the memories from over 50 years ago afre getting fragmented. In later years, late 60s through the 70s I heard live, Ellington, Basie, Herman, the Miller band under De Franco, Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Swingles, Loussier, Nat Gonella, Don Lusher, George Chisholm, less memorable for me were some UK trad bands, Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, I did enjoy the Dutch Swing College who I saw in Bristol around 1989/90.
I must admit to also having bought records by Focus and Renaissance in the 70s, also saw Renaissance live twice, er I had to take my daughter and her mate, that's my excuse.
I think the stand out concerts must be, first and foremost MJQ, then Basie, Ellington and Herman, Oscar Peterson with Joe Pass also in there.