SUNSET BEACH • Bobby Balderrama’s Shimmering New Release Catching Waves Up the Smooth Jazz Charts

With his newest and long anticipated recording, Sunset Beach, RIAA Gold Record Recipient and 3-time #1 Billboard Charting legendary musical pioneer Robert ‘Bobby’ Lee Balderrama has sharpened the precision and expanded the melodic flow of his guitar and songwriting skills to create another smooth jazz gem glistening with a tropical feel and addictive Latin flavor that escalates the overall body of his work to a new level.

Known first and foremost as the founding member and original guitarist, backing vocalist, and songwriter with the legendary Question Mark & The Mysterians; a band historically credited with  helping to pioneer the musical genre 'GARAGE ROCK/PUNK' in the early 1960's with their hit song “96 Tears” , which today stands as one of Classic Rock music's most widely recognized songs as a  staple of classic radio broadcasts all around the globe, now nearly 60-years since  that groundbreaking single  hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart during the week of October 29, 1966, Bobby is quickly rising in the national jazz charts with his newest creative outing.

“I have always enjoyed being on or near a beautiful beach during sunset” explains Balderrama. “Sunset Beach is really about me reflecting on all my travels with Question Mark and The Mysterians; to those fabulous beaches in Hawaii, California, the South of France, and in my home state of Michigan. The addition of the seagulls and waves for me helps set the ambience; and musically I wanted this song to sound like an invitation for the listener to dip their thoughts into a refreshing ocean.”

Over the years, Bobby has found himself as the guitarist and backing vocalist with "The King Of Tex-Mex Rock and Roll" Joe "King" Carrasco; the guitarist and backing vocalist with Latin Music singing sensation Liliana Rokita; the founding member, guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist of Robert Lee Band (a Blues band); the founding member, guitarist, songwriter of Robert Lee Revue (a Smooth Jazz band); a founding member, guitarist, and vocalist of The Mysterians; and as a featured artist on recordings with other artists.

Most recently, Bobby was a featured artist and co-writer of the #1 Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay Charting single “Any Moment” with Le Sonic (for the week of February 19, 2022). He was also a featured artist on the #1 Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay Charting single “I’ll Be The One” with Le Sonic (for the week of October 15, 2022). To top this remarkable run off, Le Sonic was the ONLY lead act with two songs in the top 20 of Billboards 2022 year-end Smooth Jazz Airplay Chart (#16 Le Sonic - "Any Moment" featuring Robert Lee Balderrama and #18 Le Sonic - "I'll Be the One" featuring Lauran Beluzo and Robert Lee Balderrama).

When asked about the direction he wanted to pursue on this latest outing, Bobby says he wanted to expand the musical conversation between all the artists involved in the recording. “I listen to a lot of Smooth Jazz and try to learn different licks guitarists use to color their performance,” he explains.

“With this song you hear two chords that form the foundation of the song and go back and forth, so the keyboard, bassist, and different instrumentalists can also go back and forth with me on the changes and choruses with different parts.  My manager, Chad Cunningham, asked me if I had a song that he might be interested in helping me promote, so I sent him a batch of songs I’ve been working on and he picked this one because it has a memorable melodic line and lots of fluid interplay between the artists.”

“With my guitar playing I try to reinforce the melody lines of the song instead of simply ad-libbing or improvising, which I try to stay away from,” continues Bobby. “I wrote this song almost two years ago, so when addressing the lead lines I know them note-for-note and reinforce them through variations in the texture and coloration. It’s not like improvising with the Blues but builds upon the theme of the melody line.”

Guest musicians on the track include long-time keyboardist and Mysterians co-founder Frank Rodriquez, Paul Wilkinson on Moog synth, David Britton on trumpet, Takashi Ijo on bass guitar, Pete Woodman on drums, Tom Kissel and Larry Hammond on percussion, and Amy Lynn Balderrama on shaker and maracas. The track was also recorded and engineered by Larry Hammond at Larry Hammond Studios, Frankenmuth, Michigan.

“I’ve performed at different nursing homes throughout the area with Paul Wilkinson, and he’s a great singer and instrumentalist who adds a lot to the track with his work on the moog synthesizer, “reflects Bobby; and Takashi is a phenomenal bass player pretty famous down in Detroit as a studio musician. He plays with this group called The Happy Curmudgeons that I did a song with once that’s gotten over 200,000 views on YouTube. I needed to get the right bass player for this track and initially wanted to enlist  Benny Rietveld, who plays the bass in the Santana band, but he was too busy on tour in South America so I got Takashi instead.  I told him to play exactly how he felt because I don’t like to tell people how to play their parts. I feel because they’re accomplished you can get something more out of the performance by letting them go with their instincts.”

One on the pivotal points of motion throughout Sunset Beach is the uniformity of precision yet individually colored tailored contours of drummer Pete Woodman and percussionists Tom Kissel & Larry Hammond, who definitely set the momentum and flow for Bobby to escalate the level of his guitar arpeggios. “I wanted to bring Pete in because he’s a great musician who’s played with Dick Wagner and Meatloaf, and I always felt him to be an awesome drummer. Plus, when I survived prostate cancer it was Pete Woodman who saved my life by encouraging me to get a PSA test done when I first started developing symptoms. I caught it the earliest you could and that would not have happened without Pete, so that’s another reason I feel blessed to have him perform on this track.”

Since its release, Sunset Beach has been quickly climbing the charts once again. “It’s doing awesome,” says Bobby. “It was at #88 and I think this week it’s in the 70s, so it’s moving up; and I talked to people in New York and they said probably by Thanksgiving it’s going to make the Top 10.”

No matter from his Garage/Punk contributions to his current Smooth Jazz contributions and everything in between, Bobby is recognized by his peers and fans as a consummate artist; a musician who continually strives to better himself while raising the bar ever higher after he has already set it. 

And most of all, he is eternally gracious: “I truly want to thank all the people who played on this recording with me, as well all my fans and supporters. I wouldn’t be able to play and create the music I love without them.”

You can check out Sunset Beach by clicking this link, or on YouTube, Spotify, and many other streaming sites.