That's a good start. It would be better if you knew a style of jazz that interests you. Is it swing in particular?

Here's some people who were big in the 30's:

Sidney Bechet
Jelly Roll Morton
Fletcher Henderson
Duke Ellington
Benny Goodman

To name just a few.

My favorite genres in jazz are bop and "cool" jazz. I could listen to Gerry Mulligan for hours (my Mulligan records have been on my turntable non-stop recently ), and I've got a poster of Charlie Parker on my wall. As a sax player, these guys are my idols