[LargeWu]

Levine is a great resource, but music theory, and jazz theory in particular, is a super dense subject. Having an experienced teacher to guide you through and help you internalize it is very valuable, even if it's only for the occasional lesson.

[throwaway8879]

Definitely agree about the teacher bit, if you can find a decent one, or can afford it. I find that sitting in or jamming, or even playing over standards is really helpful just to get things going. You have to remember that a lot of the jazz greats of the 20th century had little to no formal music education, let alone the complexities of jazz theory.