Leroy Mason, ca. early-1950s.

Roland Lavallée, ca. late-1940s.

With more than a thousand entertainment venues to choose from on the island of Montreal alone, audience expectations at the peak of the city’s boom years were high. Stage performers required a combination of confidence, novelty and swing to hold patrons’ attention, with ad-libbing and various tricks of the trade kept in reserve for when situations demanded them. In this SHOWTIME Part 4 episode about the heyday of Montreal jazz, tenor saxophonist Leroy Mason, vocalist Jean Dorsey and pianist Roland Lavallée tell of the versatility that helped them succeed at the time, especially when the unexpected would arise and challenge the smooth flow of their showmanship.