A good deal of my development was through use of Aebersold recordings being part of my regular practice routine. Great way to learn tunes and harmony if you are serious. I also use them to work on my ear. Would record to cassette (eeek!!! how old am I???) and pop into my car and listen to tunes being played (ie just the piano, bass and drums as all Aebersolds are ....) and hum the melodies to the tunes, listen to those GREAT bass players play walking lines (especially Ron Carter), listen to the piano comping changes.....
For the record, I am not a AB player, and I mostly play modern jazz/fusion/funk. My point here is that if you can even just get OK at playing and understanding jazz, WHATEVER style you play will be enhanced hugely!!! Your knowledge of the fretbord will grow, and your technique will improve.
Also, while Aebersolds are great, I dont care which name brand you use or if you prefer to program changes (chords) into Band In A Box, essentially its the same effect. Just if you use BIB you have to know a bit about what you are doing.