I've been a fan of jazz for something like fifty years, starting with big band music and continuing into later variations, and for most of that time I've had two constants. First, I've always been partial to the reed section of a band, possibly because I played a reed instrument myself (badly). My instrument was a clarinet, but if I ever find myself stranded on a desert isle with only one type of musician available, I'd vote for a saxophonist. There's just something about good sax.
My second constant, and it's one that showed up surprisingly early in my musical evolution, is my affinity for Latin music. Some of the early Latin bands, such as those of Pérez Prado or Xavier Cugat, were very popular in the United States in the period during and after World War II. (I've written about this era before, in an article about Los Indios Tabajaras.)
The evolution of all jazz — including the Latin variety — has continued through the years, as has my appreciation for it. Although there are a 
lot of different types of Latin jazz around, probably the best-known and most popular is Brazilian jazz, a genre that has its roots in dances such as the samba, mambo and rumba. (Don't ask me about the differences in those dances. The only thing I know about dancing is that I don't do it. Try to imagine a grizzly bear in a tutu.)
There are some different opinions about the history of Brazilian jazz, but there's little doubt that tenor saxman Stan Getz was one of those making it popular in those days with songs like "Desafinado", written by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Others, such as Sergio Mendes, helped fan the fire, and Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto and his wife Astrud burst onto the scene with "Girl From Ipanema", another Jobim song. It became a mega-hit, and probably marks the genesis of bossa-nova as a mainstream sensation.
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