Wow, I didn’t expect so many replies so quickly! I’m glad you like the idea for this thread. I think it could be a place to recommend artists, songs, albums, anything you’d like to share with others.
I’d also like to get into jazz guitar, but that’s easier said than done. Yesterday I mentioned in my Learning Log that I’ll start working my way through A Modern Method for Guitar Vols. 1-3 by William Leavitt and that it will take the better part of a year if not longer. But I’m not in a hurry and what I learn eventually will say with me. The book recommended by @TobiH seems interesting, I’ll try to get my hands on it sometime. I just don’t want to bury myself under so many books 
As for Mose Allison, I first heard about him on the Live at Leeds album by The Who where Pete Townshend calls him a “jazz sage” and they play Young Man Blues. Of course, the original is less raucous but Allison’s Back Country Suite album is an enjoyable listen.
It’s probably due to being part of another generation, but I’ve never became very familiar with the standards / songbook / swing side of jazz. I know that my favourite players also played some of those songs, e.g. John Coltrane made My Favorite Things really his own, to say the least, but the original versions have eluded me so far. Maybe it’s time to check them out. As far as more recent interpretations of standards, Keith Jarrett’s The Melody at Night, with You is one of my favourites.
As for my favourite albums / artists… the list is long, but here are a few interesting ones off the top of my head:
Miles Davis - Agharta & Pangaea: the afternoon and evening show, respectively, recorded on 1 February, 1975 in Osaka. To me, this is the culmination of Miles’ electric period and probably his career as an innovator. Two continuous sets with no “breaks” between “songs”, the music ebbs and flows as if it had its own volition, punctuated only by Miles’ cues. Music at once loud, raucous, funky, trippy, contemplative, subdued, soothing, and also in dialogue with the past. The band is really tight and works as a single unit of force.
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme: straddling the line between his “middle” and “late” period, this album is a sort of summation of his music. It’s not “out there” but sufficiently experimental to remain fresh after multiple listenings. I’m not a religious person so some of the spiritual content of spiritual jazz go over my head, but this is a record where the passion of the artist is enough to convince me of his honesty.
Grant Green - Street of Dreams: Green is probably my favourite jazz guitarist. He has a bluesy and soulful feel that always puts me in a good mood. He’s also very good in the technical sense but he never lays his chops on the audience too thick. This album of his is unique to me because, as the title suggests, it’s less focused on grooving and more on creating a sense of tranquility and ease which is enhanced by the organ and the vibes. It may not be a classic but I’m always happy to return to it.
Pharoah Sanders - Jewels of Thought: now this is some spiritual jazz that I really like in spite of the religious content. Vocal jazz is another thing I’m not especially keen on, but here the vocals do not take center stage. The album has two distinct “sides”: a sort of jubilant communal singalong thing that reminds me of gospel on side A; and a more foreboding, chaotic and fire-and-brimstone ambiance on side B. Despite the all-out sonic assault on side B, I’m still attracted to it and sometimes I wonder why. I haven’t found a logical explanation yet - it might be the sheer power of the shrieking saxophone or the rumbling of the piano. It’s probably what I would call sublime. And after all that “madness”, the sky becomes clear again the final few minutes of the album.
Herbie Hancock - Sextant: when I first heard “Rain Dance”, I was so surprised I had to listen to it a few more times. Like, up until then jazz to me was music played with usual organic instruments. But here we have the sounds of bubbling drops of rain, a light shower, torrential storm all played with synthesizers, and then comes a double bass solo. It blew my mind then, and it still does now. And it’s only the opening track. The other two cuts are somewhat less out-there, but what they may lack in experimentation is made up amply with grooves, paving the way for Hancock’s Head Hunters album released a few months later.
Miles Davis - Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It’s About That Time: I can vividly remember the first time I listened to this album about 15 years ago or so. That was roughly the time when my interest in jazz started, so a lot of things were new to me. This was among the albums that got me hooked to Miles and jazz in general. Here we have 2 sets played by Miles as an opening act to Neil Young & Crazy Horse and the Steve Miller Band. Well, that night the floor was mopped up with them. Miles & Co. definitely tore the roof off the place. The sets were continuous although the changes between the songs were more apparent than they would be a few years later. Chick Corea’s electric piano and Dave Holland’s occasional Fender bass were the only electric instruments and there was no guitar yet but there was really no need for one that night. The band was on fire and the playing was as sharp as a surgical knife. Somehow they managed to crank it up and switch into a higher gear for the second set, especially Corea who was at least an equal of Miles. This is music to prove that jazz needn’t be something to be handled in cotton gloves. This is music that refuses to be tamed.
Well, I better stop here before I write a whole novel here. What are your favourites?
).