The 3 Sounds

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.

Samples in hip hop
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.