Olympic Theatre Arts in Sequim welcomes back jazz ensemble Friends of Brubeck for a pair of concerts, Aug. 5-6, on the OTA Main Stage, 414 N. Sequim Ave.

Performing are pianist and bandleader Linda Dowdell, with Craig Buhler on reeds, Ted Enderle on bass and Terry Smith on drums — all well-known peninsula musicians. Joining them from New York City is vocalist Elinore O’Connell.

Reserved seating tickets are $20 each and available online at olympictheaterearts.org, at the theater box office or at the door, if available.

“Dave Brubeck is a household name in much of the world,” Dowdell said. “When he died in 2012, saxophonist Craig Buhler suggested we perform some of Brubeck’s memorable songs at a local gig.”

Since that time, the duo has become a quartet, focusing not only on Brubeck’s classics such as “Take Five,” “Blue Rondo a la Turk” and “It’s a Raggy Waltz” but other songs as well, arranged in styles that blend classical and jazz music with a somewhat “Brubeck-ish” result.

Dowdell finds Brubeck’s music inspirational due to its classical and improvised mix. No stranger to odd or mixed meters, she has logged years with dancers, chore- ographers and musical theater composers, performing with artists including Mikhail Baryshnikov and Yo-Yo Ma. As a result, her playing and arrangements have a quirky eclecticism.

Buhler always has had an interest in Brubeck’s long time musical partner Paul Desmond and has spent the past several decades trying to “get inside Desmond’s head.”

“What an engaging storyteller, with the vocal prowess to match!” is how Sequim resident Karen Pritchard described O’Connell’s contribution to the quartet at a previous performance. O’Connell’s career ranges from appearances on Broadway to First National Tours and features a wide range of musical genres with songs from Cole Porter to Nina Simone. She has traveled to the peninsula for the past five summers as a teacher for the Musical Theatre Intensive for Teens, a two-week workshop at OTA directed by Dowdell.

“These young people are exploring careers in the very competitive fields of theater and performance,” O’Connell said. “I enjoy training them up to the levels expected in the industry and then completing my stay by performing with Friends of Brubeck — such a dynamic group of musicians.”

Call 683-7326 for more information.