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When Geoff Molson bought L’Équipe Spectra in December 2013, he gave Alain Simard and André Ménard matching Habs hockey sweaters.

It’s a fitting image as, 5 1/2 years later, the Montreal International Jazz Festival co-founders prepare to retire their numbers for good.

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While both have stayed on in a limited capacity over the past half-decade, this 40th edition of the jazz fest will be their last — on the clock, at least.

“I’m returning to the crowd,” said Ménard, with more excitement than regret. “I won’t be a VIP anymore, and I don’t mind. Most festivals I attend, I don’t spend the day in the VIP area. You can’t talk forever about the fan experience without doing it yourself.”

He and Simard know about the fan experience. For the past four decades, their beloved event has come to define summer in our city. The jazz fest draws epic crowds — two million site entries per year, at last count — with most patrons making the pilgrimage to take in the hundreds of free shows that have been the fest’s trademark from the very beginning.