OK, you're not a jazz aficionado. But every June you see downtown Rochester come alive. All of your coolest friends are there, raving about this or that performance, and you want to be a part of it. What is this thing called "jazz," and how do you get enough of a grip on it - fast - to appreciate what you hear?

There's nothing to fear

First, jazz isn't as alien as you might think. If you're coming from classical music, many of your favorite composers - Bach, Beethoven, Mozart - improvised at the keyboard. When Paganini wrote "Caprice No. 24 in A Minor," he was taking a great jazz ride, playing wildly different variations over subliminal chord changes.

If your music is pop, you've heard a lot of jazz-oriented solos. Ever since Stevie Wonder took his great harmonica break in "For Once In My Life," and The Doors took a wild trip on "Light My Fire" in the 1960's, improvising over the changes has been a staple in pop songs. More recently, guitarists John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead have earned a lot of jazz cred.

So you know more than you think. Now it's time to go out and get some indispensable jazz albums that are guaranteed to make you want to hear more.

Essential discs

There's a reason Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" is still selling a half-century after its release. The tunes are wonderful, from the horns shouting "So What," to the ethereal beauty of "Flamenco Sketches." And when greats like saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, pianist Bill Evans, and Davis take off on solos, it's breathtaking.

"My Favorite Things" by Coltrane is so engaging, it was practically a hit when first released in the early 1960's. Everybody knows Rodgers and Hammerstein's corny tune; listen to how Coltrane re-invents it. When he unleashes his ferocious sheets-of-sound phrases, it's absolutely exhilarating. Also on the album are gorgeous takes on "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," "Summertime," and "But Not For Me."

More than anyone before or after, Duke Ellington showed the world what a jazz orchestra is capable of. The voicings and textures on a tune like "The Mooche" ("The Best Of The RCA and Columbia Years") are otherworldly.

Oliver Nelson's "The Blues and the Abstract Truth" is a masterpiece from start to finish, with tunes that are as infectious as they are intelligent, from the beauty of "Stolen Moments" to the rollocking fun of "Hoe-Down." Not to mention the great solos of Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, and Bill Evans.

Pianist Thelonious Monk may seem odd at first, but listen a few times and you'll come to realize that it's precisely that eclectic sound that makes him jazz's greatest composer. "Genius of Modern Music" (or any "Best of" compilation) contains "Round About Midnight," "Ruby My Dear," and so many more masterpieces. Monk's compositions are played frequently at the RIJF.

Shows for a good start

If you are going to your first RIJF, here are five shows that won't intimidate you:

- Rochester Jazz @ The Philharmonic "Celebrating The Jam Session" will provide a primer on improvisation with 15 top jazz musicians (Wednesday, June 18, Eastman Theatre).

-Sliding Hammers features two trombone-playing sisters from Sweden who are among the most engaging performers you'll ever see (Thursday, June 19, at Christ Church; Friday, June 20, at Kilbourn Hall; Saturday, June 21, at Lutheran Church).

-Dave Samuels' Caribbean Jazz Project is as breezy as the name implies (Saturday, June 14, at Harro East Ballroom).

-Guitarist Howard Alden is melodic, engaging and endlessly swinging (Sunday, June 15, at Montage Music Hall).

-The Lou Donaldson Quartet combines soul and jazz in a tuneful way that's hard to resist (Monday, June 16, at Kilbourn Hall).