Sonny in the Dark: Jazzing the Blues Spirit in James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues"

James Baldwin's short story "Sonny's Blues" has been lauded as a masterful depiction of the relation of jazz music and the jazz musician to the African American community since its publication in 1957. In order to explore the spectrum of musical references Baldwin makes to unveil their delicate conjunctions, it is vital to probe the traditions of African American music Spirituals, Blues, Jazz, and Pop to get a more comprehensive sense of how Baldwin makes use of music from the sacred and secular continuum in the African American community. By looking more closely at the variety of African American musical genres to which Baldwin refers in the story, all of which have as their core elements of human isolation, loneliness, and despair ameliorated by artistic expression, hope, and the search for familial ties, we can discern even more the nuances of unity that Baldwin creates in his story through musical allusions, and shed greater light on Baldwin's exploration of the complexities of African American life and music.