The Three Sounds

The Three Sounds (also known as The 3 Sounds) were an American jazz trio that formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1973. The trio played and recorded with Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day, Bucky Pizzarelli, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt, among others.

The band formed in Benton Harbor, Michigan as the Four Sounds. The original line-up consisted of Gene Harris on piano, Andrew Simpkins on double bass and Bill Dowdy on drums, along with saxophonist Lonnie 'The Sound' Walker, who dropped out the following year. The group moved to Washington and then New York, where, as the Three Sounds, they cut a record for Riverside Records, before signing an exclusive contract with Blue Note.

Between 1958 and 1962, the group released nine albums for Blue Note. They toured nationally during this period, building a large following in jazz clubs across the country.

The song "Put On Train", from Live at It Club (1970) was featured as the prominent background sample in the hip-hop group Beastie Boys song "What Comes Around" on their 1989 album Paul's Boutique.

Discography

 * 1958: Introducing the 3 Sounds
 * 1958: Branching Out with Nat Adderley
 * 1959: Bottoms Up!
 * 1959: LD + 3 with Lou Donaldson
 * 1959: Good Deal
 * 1960: Moods
 * 1960: Feelin' Good
 * 1960: Here We Come
 * 1960: It Just Got to Be
 * 1960: Blue Hour with Stanley Turrentine
 * 1961: Hey There
 * 1961: Babe's Blues
 * 1962: Out of This World
 * 1962: Black Orchid
 * 1962: Blue Genes
 * 1962: The Three Sounds Play Jazz on Broadway
 * 1963: Anita O'Day & The Three Sounds
 * 1963: Jazz on Broadway
 * 1963: Some Like It Modern
 * 1964: Live at the Living Room
 * 1964: Three Moods (Limelight Records)
 * 1965: Beautiful Friendship (Limelight)
 * 1966: Today's Sounds (Limelight)
 * 1966: Vibrations
 * 1967: Live at the Lighthouse
 * 1968: Coldwater Flat
 * 1968: Elegant Soul
 * 1969: Soul Symphony
 * 1970: Live at the "It Club"
 * 1971: The 3 Sounds - Gene Harris album