Los Super Seven

In its original incarnation, los Super Seven really was seven: David Hidalgo and Cesar Rojas of Los Lobos, Ruben Ramos, Rick Trevino, Joe Ely, Freddy Fender and Flaco Jimenez -- an all-star Tex-Mex/roots group if ever there was one. For the first, self-titled album they brought in collaborators like Doug Sahm and the mariachi group Campanas de America to explore traditional Tex-Mex songs; the album won a Grammy in 1998. The second album, which saw only Hidalgo, Rojas, Ramos and Trevino returning, looked farther afield, incorporating music from the Caribbean and South America and featuring guest artists including Caetano Veloso, Raul Malo and Susana Baca.