| The 3 Sounds | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Genre: | Soul jazz Hard bop Post-bop |
| Past Members: | Gene Harris Andrew Simpkins Bill Dowdy |
The 3 Sounds (also known as The Three Sounds) was an American jazz piano trio that formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1973.
The band formed in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, as the Four Sounds. The original lineup 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 trio played and recorded with the likes of saxophonists Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt, cornet player Nat Adderley, singer Anita O'Day, and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, among others.
Part of the Three Sounds song "Put On Train", from the 1971 Gene Harris album The 3 Sounds, was the prominent background sample in the hip hop group Beastie Boys' song "What Comes Around" on their 1989 album Paul's Boutique.[1]
| Year | Catalog number | Title | Date recorded | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | BLP 1600 | Introducing the 3 Sounds | 1958-09-16, -18 | ||
| 1959 | BLP 4012 | LD + 3 | 1959-02-18 | with Lou Donaldson | |
| 1959 | BLP 4014 | Bottoms Up! | 1958-09-16, -28, 1959-02-11 | ||
| 1960 | BLP 4020 | Good Deal | 1959-05-20 | ||
| 1961 | BLP 4044 | Moods | 1960 | ||
| 1961 | BLP 4057 | Blue Hour | 1960 | with Stanley Turrentine | |
| 1961 | BLP 4072 | Feelin' Good | 1960 | ||
| 1962 | BLP 4088 | Here We Come | 1960 | ||
| 1962 | BLP 4102 | Hey There | 1961 | ||
| 1963 | BLP 4120 | It Just Got to Be | 1960 | ||
| 1964 | BLP 4155 | Black Orchid | 1962 | ||
| 1966 | BLP 4197 | Out of This World | 1962 | ||
| 1986 | BST 84434 | Babe's Blues | 1961, 1962 | ||
| 1998 | N/A | Standards | 1959, 1962 | ||
| Year | Catalog number | Title | Date recorded | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | V-8513 | Blue Genes | 1962 | ||
| 1963 | V-8514 | Anita O'Day & the Three Sounds | 1962 | with Anita O'Day |
| Year | Catalog number | Title | Date recorded | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | MG 20776 | The Three Sounds Play Jazz on Broadway | 1962 | ||
| 1963 | MG 20839 | Some Like It Modern | 1963 | ||
| 1964 | MG 20921 | Live at the Living Room | 1964 | live |
| Year | Catalog number | Title | Date recorded | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | LM 82014 | Three Moods | 1965 | with arrangements by Julian Lee | |
| 1965 | LM 82026 | Beautiful Friendship | 1965 | with arrangements by Julian Lee | |
| 1966 | LM 82037 | Today's Sounds | 1966-02 | live; with Kalil Madi replacing Bill Dowdy on drums |
| Year | Catalog number | Title | Date recorded | Personnel/Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | BLP 4248 | Vibrations | 1966 | Andy Simpkins (bass), Kalil Madi (drums) | |
| 1967 | BLP 4265 | Live at The Lighthouse | 1967 | Andy Simpkins (bass), Donald Bailey (drums); live | |
| 1968 | BST 84285 | Coldwater Flat | 1968 | Andy Simpkins (bass), Donald Bailey (drums); plus Oliver Nelson Orchestra | |
| 1968 | BST 84301 | Elegant Soul | 1968 | Andy Simpkins (bass), Carl Burnett (drums); plus orchestra | |
| 1969 | BST 84341 | Soul Symphony | 1969 | Henry Franklin (bass), Carl Burnett (drums); plus orchestra | |
| 1996 | N/A | Live at the 'It Club' | 1970 | Henry Franklin (bass), Carl Burnett (drums); live | |
| 2000 | N/A | Live at the 'It Club' Volume 2 | 1970 | Henry Franklin (bass), Carl Burnett (drums); live(Source: [2]) | |