Eudemonic

Eudemonia is, in Aristotle's philosophy, happiness that arises from a life of activity governed by reason, and that which is eudemonic, of course, inclines one toward eudemonia. So, that's a positive title for an album, and the Steve Kimock Band — Kimock and Mitch Stein on guitars, Jim Kost on keyboards, Alphonso Johnson on bass, and Rodney Holmes on drums — justifies it with their first studio recording (after a couple of live discs), an all-instrumental collection of tunes written by Kimock and/or Holmes that explore melodic rock with occasional gestures toward other styles, for example the Middle Eastern feel that comes in on Holmes' "The Bronx Experiment." Kimock, a veteran journeyman in his 50th year, has been performing on the San Francisco Bay Area scene for decades, notably in the band Zero (where he had to play behind former Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina) and, following the death of Jerry Garcia (who once called Kimock his favorite unknown guitarist), in the post-Grateful Dead band led by the group's former members, the Other Ones. At times, such as during "In Reply," it's possible to hear Garcia's influence in Kimock's delicate, detailed, high-note lead work, and the Steve Kimock Band has been embraced by the jam band movement, with this album released on the String Cheese Incident's SCI Fidelity label. Sometimes these compositions are sufficiently well organized that they sound like pop/rock songs without lyrics; at other points the music borders on smooth jazz and would not sound out of place on contemporary jazz radio. Kimock is an accomplished player whose focus is on creating melodic, listenable tracks, and this album should earn him more fans.