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    The Main

    Montreal's Cultural Directory

    Help us improve! Share your thoughts on how we can make your experience better.

    Leave feedback

    For partnerships and collaborations:

    partnerships@themain.com

    Content

    • Articles
    • Food & Drink
    • Arts & Culture
    • History Lesson
    • Bulletin
    • Events

    Guides

    • All Guides
    • Best Restaurants
    • Best Cafés
    • Best Bars
    • Best Brunch
    • Best Bakeries

    Explore Montreal

    • Browse Directory
    • Restaurants
    • Bars
    • Cafés
    • Bookstores
    • Leaderboard
    • Editor's Picks
    • New Places

    About

    • About us
    • Subscribe
    • Shop
    • Advertise
    • Pitch us
    • RSS Feed

    Legal

    • Terms of service
    • Membership Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    Follow us
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    The Main Media Inc. 2026

    ✦ Built By Field Office

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      History Lesson

      Before Jazz Had Festival Stages, It Had Coffeehouses

      Montreal’s jazz culture grew in the city’s espresso bars and coffeehouses. This summer, Le Café Lavazza pays tribute to that legacy at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

      ByThe Main

      June 26, 2026 · 3 min read

      Before Jazz Had Festival Stages, It Had Coffeehouses
      Singer Noël Guyves surrounded by his audience at Café L'échouerie in 1954. | Photograph: Robert Millet / Archives de la Ville de Montréal / P179-Y-01-03-P002

      The Main is reader-supported. Subscriptions are what keep us independent. Five dollars a month — the restaurants, the guides, the weekly bulletin, and what to do each weekend. Support us today.

      Branded content

      This is branded content, made possible by a vetted partner.

      Presented by

      Lavazza

      Long before jazz had festival stages, it had the small, smoky rooms of basement clubs, neighbourhood cafés, and corner bars. These were the clandestine addresses where anyone with an opinion and a few coins could pull up a stool, take an espresso, and stay a while to listen in, argue, and think out loud.

      As Italian-style espresso bars began spreading through North American cities in the 1950s, they carried something the local bar or dance hall couldn't offer: conversation and contemplation. That was the perfect setting for shifting attitudes in jazz at the time, as it moved away from the Swing and Big Band players of the dance floor and towards Bebop you’d sooner sit with and ponder.

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      History Lesson

      Before Jazz Had Festival Stages, It Had Coffeehouses

      Montreal’s jazz culture grew in the city’s espresso bars and coffeehouses. This summer, Le Café Lavazza pays tribute to that legacy at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

      ByThe Main

      June 26, 2026 · 3 min read

      Before Jazz Had Festival Stages, It Had Coffeehouses
      Singer Noël Guyves surrounded by his audience at Café L'échouerie in 1954. | Photograph: Robert Millet / Archives de la Ville de Montréal / P179-Y-01-03-P002

      The Main is reader-supported. Subscriptions are what keep us independent. Five dollars a month — the restaurants, the guides, the weekly bulletin, and what to do each weekend. Support us today.

      Branded content

      This is branded content, made possible by a vetted partner.

      Presented by

      Lavazza

      Long before jazz had festival stages, it had the small, smoky rooms of basement clubs, neighbourhood cafés, and corner bars. These were the clandestine addresses where anyone with an opinion and a few coins could pull up a stool, take an espresso, and stay a while to listen in, argue, and think out loud.

      As Italian-style espresso bars began spreading through North American cities in the 1950s, they carried something the local bar or dance hall couldn't offer: conversation and contemplation. That was the perfect setting for shifting attitudes in jazz at the time, as it moved away from the Swing and Big Band players of the dance floor and towards Bebop you’d sooner sit with and ponder.

      Free account required

      For readers who care about Montreal

      Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.

      Independent. Local. Reader-supported.

      or

      Already a member? Sign in

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      Share your thoughts and join the conversation. Please be respectful and constructive.

      No comments yet. Be the first!

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