Well trad jazz was a big thing in British pubs back in the late 1950s. And the likes of Dave Brubeck brought modern jazz to the masses. However those in the UK actually collecting records by US artists (old or new) must have been a lot rarer.

When it comes to jazz I actually listen to, Louis Jordan gets more plays in my home than any other jazz artist. Perfection.

I should say Louis Jordan is a sound choice; no gloomy introspection there.  An upbeat sound, like Armstrong at his best (when he wasn't hamming it up).  (I always liked the fact that Philip Larkin rated Satch as a far more significant cultural influence for the 20th century than Pablo Picasso).  If I had to choose music for a desert island I would probably go for Astaire singing Cole Porter.  Not jazz admittedly but...  well...  I must get back to Bird: but the slower stuff, when the blues can be felt more powerfully.

Hoagy Carmichael is also a favourite of mine, first seen in a movie with Bogart and Bacall (can't remember which - 'To Have And Have Not'?).  Anything rather low-key.  I expect my wife and I will be watching our favourite Hollywood musicals in the run-up to Christmas, then between Christmas and New Year.  'Top Hat' and 'Gold Diggers Of 1933' will be at the top of the list.  Non-musical: 'Scrooge' (Alistair Sim) on Christmas Eve, 'The Maltese Falcon' on Christmas Day, 'It's A Wonderful Life' on Boxing Day.  Some early Hitchcock, too.  Then anything from the 30s with Jean Arthur.

One of my early jazz albums I purchased was in fact Chet Baker Art & Art Pepper "Playboys". The album had no photo of the the pair,so you couldn't see how cool Baker was. It just a woman with a glove puppet on each hand.
This was also a good few years before he was considered a style Icon, see Fred Dellar/Roy Carr & Brian Case's book The Hip.

Turned up some late 60's latin funk/soul lps at a thrift this week, including Little Joe & the Latinaires "Follow The Leader" with a killer take on James Brown's "Soul Pride", covers of Curtis Mayfield, Dave Brubeck, etc, and Ray Camacho & the Teardrops 1st Lp with "Wade In The Water", Puente's "Cha Cha Mambo", etc.

Still good stuff out there to be turned up.

As I've said before: Bird guesting with The Machito Orchestra was one hell of a combination. They recorded together Dec 48 and Jan 49.

Located a CD also featuring Diz.

Charlie Parker with Strings is one hell of an album.
It manages to avoid all the schmaltz that strings can sometimes create and still maintain its jazziness.
This version of Laura remains a firm favourite of mine.
There's a great story - and I hope it's true. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics without hearing the music. He was just given a plot summary of the film and that was sufficient. Oh to have that much talent.

Re Dana Andrews.  Doesn't one of the little kids in 'Radio Days' say he's in love with Dana Andrews?  A lovely, underrated movie.

Yeah, I dig Verve.

AFM mentions Chet here. I've just read John Cooper Clarke's very entertaining autobiography and he recounts a scene where a hollow-cheeked, dead-eyed old American guy sells him heroin when he was touring in Amsterdam. It took him a while to realise this was actually the great Chet Baker. A wretched end indeed.