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Step 1
Ask other musicians you know ho ware interested in jazz if they would like to play with you, even if they haven't played in a jazz group previously. Many jazz combos begin with two or three musicians getting together to play some songs, rather than as a formal effort to organize a group.
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Step 2
Get a good drummer and bassist for the foundation of your group. A drummer who is well versed in different styles of jazz, Latin and rock rhythm is a necessity for a good combo, and a bassist also needs to have a good sense of rhythm and knowledge of chords and scales.
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Step 3
Get a range of instruments. A jazz combo can include anything from the typical jazz instrumentation of trumpets, trombones and saxophones to flutes, clarinets and tubas. Be creative when selecting your instrumentation and stay open to interesting combinations of sounds.
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Step 4
Learn jazz theory together. If the members of your combo aren't all well versed in chord progressions, work together on learning them to make sure you are on the same page. You can also spend some time on basic improvisation lessons and learning some useful lines to incorporate into solo improvisations.
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Step 5
Practice songs in a typical jazz form by playing the head (main melody) together, then following a certain order of solo improvisations, and finally returning to the head. Alternatively, you can write out an arrangement of a song or harmony lines for your combo to play, though this is more typical of a big band and is only rarely done in a combo.
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Step 6
Perform for a crowd, whether you book a real show or just play for a few friends. Jazz performance is fun to listen to and you'll be sure to impress some people with your new skills once you've learned a few songs.
