Soul Box, Vol. 2 (1973)

"The early work of alto saxophonist and composer Grover Washington, Jr. is a rare and beautiful thing to behold. Solid urban groove jazz played with grace, mean chops, and slippery funkiness. "Soul Box" (1973) has Creed Taylor's production enhanced by a symphony orchestra and full-blown jazz band arranged and conducted by Bob James. Some of the session men include Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Eric Gale, Idris Muhammad, Airto, and Richard Tee. Among them are truly innovative reads of Billy Cobham's "Taurian Matador," Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." The orchestra adds the right drama or sweetness, but Washington makes them grittier, with soloing that sidles up to the melody before reinventing it. "Soul Box" (the two volumes together) is a modern classic for its instrumental and arrangement invention and for its deeply emotional bounty."(Thom Jurek, Allmusic)