China Cats

A longtime fixture in Santa Cruz music circles, multi-instrumentalist Scott Cooper moves freely between improvisational jams, rock, bluegrass and folk music. A celebrated and often-used sideman, Cooper has recently taken center stage with his first solo release, A Leg Trick. Friday sees him playing with China Cats, a Grateful Dead tribute band whose members are more interested in reviving the spirit of the legendary band than recreating each tune note for note. Using the Dead’s catalog as a launching pad, China Cats then heads off into swirling, uncharted longform jams.