James Baldwin in his Sonny’s Blues applies jazz music as a recurring theme to convey messages relating to self, society, and the impact of art on individuals. Sonny’s inner self, his battles within, and his eventual completion are all illustrated through jazz, which helps him build a bond with himself as well as others. Baldwin emphasizes the ability of music to help Sonny cope with his inner self and his story through Sonny’s use of jazz.

Sonny, for instance, depicts jazz in the process of identifying his brother’s reasons for his performance: Why does he play the music? It appears that it gives him order and alleviates his malaise. The pain and hurt that words cannot heal, jazz serves as a conduit for Sonny, it expresses his sorrow. For Sonny, it’s not just the sound of bass and a cocktail of beats but a fundamental aspect of him that defines him as a unique jazz artist different from the narrator with a distinct culture of struggle.

Jazz is also about a social context as in the case of the neighborhood of Harlem where both brothers were nurtured. The jazz club in which Sonny eventually sings is a space of pain or hope-seeking through music. In that curtained room filled with the same crowd that had witnessed similar tragedies, Sonny’s music meant healing to him and others. This concerns Baldwin’s perspective on the shared pain and the necessity of addition to ache’s ordeal i.e. community.

Baldwin lastly focuses on how beautifully the narrator sees art’s portrayal when watching Sonny play. While playing, Sonny’s music seems to make the narrator appreciate how deep his brother’s agony must have been and how profoundly healing his artistry can be. For Sonny, music helps him in seeking and vanquishing his torment. This provides him with a glimpse of his brother creating a bond and revealing the impact art can have in a way that cannot be expressed through words. Through jazz, Baldwin expresses the nuance of self, the resilience of communities, and the ability of art to redeem what is lost.

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