"For almost half a century, more jazz was made in Montreal than anywhere else in Canada...Musicians who play jazz have been strongly individualistic by nature, but they have traditionally made their music in groups and among their peers.The history of jazz is both the history of individuals and the history of community. In Montreal, the making of jazz has been profoundly influenced by political, social, and economic factors, many of them unique to the city and the predominantly francophone province of Quebec in which it is situated."
.............-John Gilmore, Swinging in Paradise.