WATERVILLE – The fifth annual Downtown Waterville Jazz Festival featuring The Alex Blake Quartet will be Oct. 8 and 9 at the Waterville Opera House, 93 Main St.

Blake, who has played with Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey and many others, is currently known for his work with Randy Weston and Pharoah Sanders. He’ll lead his own New York City quartet in an exclusive Maine engagement.

The quartet features Alex Blake on bass; Ted Cruz, piano; Chris Hunter, saxophone; and Victor Jones, drums. They will perform two sets of dynamic contemporary jazz.

The festival will also showcase a Young Jazz Artist Concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, in the Opera House, featuring the Mid Maine Jazz All-Stars, directed by Eric Thomas, Colby College’s bands director, and John Phillips-Sandy, leading a quartet of jazz musicians from the Hartt School of Music, Hartford, Conn.

Workshops will be held for middle and high school students Saturday, 2 p.m. at Colby College. The festival is produced by The Center for Peace Through Creative Expression.

Tickets are available at the Railroad Square Cinema, 873-4021, or the Opera House box office, 873-7000. Information is available at 680-2055 or 342-4715. People may obtain workshop information by calling 859-9840.