Search - Super Seven :: Canto

Formed in 1998 as a loose collective of (mostly) Texas musicians with a love for traditional Mexican melodies, Los Super Seven took exactly one week to produce a self-titled debut that was an offhand marvel of norteño tradition and intimacy. Three years later, four of the original members--including David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos--return for Canto, but their musical ambitions have broadened from Tex-Mex house party to pan-Latin musical summit. Boasting guest appearances by Brazilian tropicalismo heavyweight Caetano Veloso, Los Angeles-based Cuban pianist Albert Salas, and Peruvian diva Susana Baca, Canto features some of the old-world romantic charm of Buena Vista Social Club (listen, in particular, to Raul Malo croon the album-opening "Siboney"), but the CD doesn't shy away from the subtler, breathier charms of Veloso or Baca's sophisticated Afro-Latin pop on "Drumi Drumi Mobila." Canto reaches its pinnacle on "Teresa," a Hildalgo-sung gem that mixes the rock experimentalism of Los Lobos with the percussive piano attack of Salas and a complex undertow of polyrhythms. At times like these, Canto sounds both like a logical extension of Ry Cooder's multimedia global juggernaut, and a not-so-subtle reminder that new musical traditions are often carved out by ignoring geographic boundaries. --Keith Moerer