"Am I Blue?" sung by Ethel Waters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xELXrF9efaQ
The brothers' moment of redemption and communion occurs as Sonny improvises to the song "Am I Blue?", originally written in 1929 for the famed Blues singer Ethel Waters.
Bebop Style Sheet
http://www.jazzinamerica.org/jazzresources/stylesheets/10
A concise explanation of bebop with accompanying audio clips. Sonny's idol Charlie Parker is credited with helping develop bebop and the story's descriptions heavily suggest this is the sub-genre of jazz that Sonny plays.
Harlem Renaissance
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harlem-renaissance
A video and short article explaining the impact of the Harlem Renaissance. James Baldwin came of age in Harlem during this period of tremendous cultural growth and set "Sonny's Blues" in the neighborhood in the aftermath of the movement.
A Report From Occupied Territory
http://www.thenation.com/article/159618/report-occupied-territory#
James Baldwin writes for the Nation in 1966 about an instance of police brutality in Harlem and refers to the neighborhood as occupied territory. Here Baldwin makes explicit the system of racial repression that underlies much of "Sonny's Blues."
