One of the most common progressions used in Jazz and popular music is the II V I progression. As the name implies, this progression begins on the second chord in the key (IIm7), progresses to the fifth (V7) and then progresses to the chord for which the key is named (Imaj7).
A good way to become familiar with this (or any) progression is to repeat it many times using a different set of chord voicings on each repeat. This is demonstrated on the recording with the following example, which is a repeating II V I progression in the key of G. You could play it using voicings in a particular area of the fretboard on the lower strings and then the higher strings, then move to a different area of the fretboard and repeat the process. There are many possibilities. The more you practice like this, the more freedom of expression you will have when playing with other musicians.
The most common way of improvising over a II V I progression is to use the Dorian mode for the II chord, the Mixolydian for the V chord and the Ionian over the I chord.