ROB DEHLINGER AND THE ALPHA RHYTHM KINGS

PARTY TIME

Independent Label

Rob Dehlinger has been leading The Alpha Rhythm Kings with his vocals and trumpet since 2017.  As an arranger and composer, his music has been delighting audiences from California to New York with energy that provokes and supports a good party.  The title of their newest release, “Party Time,” is quite appropriate.

The big band opens with a taste of Ragtime. The song is title, “All the Cats Join In” and was originally recorded by Benny Goodman. Their arrangement reminds me of the Cab Calloway days.

This is followed by a blues shuffle, winding the clock back to something you would have heard in the 1950s.  Rob Dehlinger is the lead vocalist on “Party Man.” He uses “Call and Response” with his band members echoing the lyrics, delivering a rhythmic chant of their own. Surprisingly, this is a “Prince” composition.  Dehlinger and the Alpha Rhythm Kings rework this icon’s pop song, transforming the tune into a big band number.  It’s quite imaginative. Dehlinger dips into the style of Louis Prima, who greatly influenced him.

One of Dehlinger’s original tunes is called “Scatterbrain” and includes a four-minute scat solo that is quite impressive. His tenor voice dances atop the fast tempo seamlessly. They seem to end the arrangement with a fake pause, and just as I catch my breath, they jump back into a full force swing.  This band is big fun!

“I find scatting easy because I don’t have to remember words,” he chuckles jokingly.

Their song, “Twas Brillig” expands a brief musical moment from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland into a swing arrangement, giving a nod to the band’s frequent performances at Disneyland and offering a slow shuffle blues instrumental. It features some of the outstanding horn players in this aggregation.

“Party Time” is a high energy album stuffed with wonderful, joyful music that explodes like a pinata, spewing songs all over my listening room like presents falling from the sky. Rob Dehlinger’s music celebrates a good time, inspires swing dancers to take to the floor, and entertains the listener with vintage style.  I recognize this fun-filled music will never go out of fashion. When the Alpha Rhythm Kings strut onto the stage, looking sharp and sounding full of pizazz, they remind us of America’s important musical history.

THE ALPHA RHYTHM KINGS: Rob Dehlenger, lead vocals/trumpet/percussion/Hammond B3 organ/background vocals/foley (various sounds of things other than instruments); Adam Munoz, foley; Hardy Hemphill & John Cocuzzi, piano; Richard Nelson Hall, piano/foley; Aaron Germain, upright bass; Danny Gerz, upright bass/background vocals/foley; Vince Litteton, drums; Bob Skye, bongos & congas; Josh Workman, guitar; Fil Lorenz, tenor saxophone/background vocals; foley; Steve Steinberg, tenor sax/background vocals; Carroll Ashby, trombone/background vocals/foley.                                                                                           

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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