Angela Bingham: Jazz Vocalist and Vocal Coach

Angela Bingham's singing exemplifies the qualities of honest expression, solid swinging, and an emphasis on the blues. With a rich alto tone and an affinity for improvisation, she phrases conversationally, making the lyrics her own and creating the impression that she's sharing her heart with you, as if you were conversing over cocktails or an intimate supper—without sacrificing any of a song's musical interest. When Angela steps onto the stage, the instrumentalists respond with the same genuine enthusiasm and respect they would show to a talented horn player. (David R. Halliday, 20-year West Coast veteran of jazz radio) Angela is deeply rooted in the tradition of iconic jazz vocalists, drawing material from both the Great American Songbook and modern singer/songwriters. 

A singer her entire life, Angela began studying piano and performing from the American songbook at age 5 in her San Francisco Bay Area home. With parents who were art gallery owners specializing in 20th-century American art, the Bingham household was filled with music, singing, and performances. Angela participated in numerous choirs and honed her jazz vocal skills in her teens under Roger Letson at De Anza College. It was during these formative years that she immersed herself in the great vocalese tradition pioneered by Lambert Hendricks & Ross and Eddie Jefferson, singing as if she were a horn player. This passion led her to further solo training through workshops and private lessons with some of the world’s most renowned jazz vocalists and instrumentalists.

In 2000, Angela began to refine her solo craft on the bandstand with guitar virtuoso Kenji Aihara and tenor saxophonist David Halliday while living in Salt Lake City, Utah. The pull to New York City came in 2005, where she quickly established a monthly residency at Brooklyn's (sadly defunct) Total Wine Bar. From 2005 to 2011, she enjoyed playing alongside New York's top musicians, including pianists Tedd Firth and Deidre Rodman Struck, guitarists Greg Ruggiero, Yotam Silberstein, and Tony Romano, and bassists Marco Panascia and Chris Higgins. Preferring to work with guitarists, she was one of the few vocalists regularly booked to perform at Bar Next Door in Greenwich Village and also sat in at various venues across the city, including Birdland and Smalls.

In 2011, Angela and her husband Frank Longino relocated to the Triangle region of North Carolina. She frequently performs with her quartet, featuring genre-bending guitarist Scott Sawyer, at Sharp Nine Gallery in Durham—one of DownBeat Magazine’s Top 100 Jazz Venues. Additionally, she enjoys a residency at Pimiento Tea Room in Holly Springs, playing twice a month with local talent, including multi-instrumentalist Frank Longino, guitarist Kevin Van Sant, and bassist Paul Creel. Angela is also a monthly vocalist with the NC Jazz Repertory Orchestra big band, directed by trumpeter Jim Ketch, and has headlined events such as the South Carolina Jazz Festival (2016) and the Koka Booth Amphitheater Josh Cellars Jazz Series (2025). Currently, she is working on two new recording projects. Follow Angela Bingham’s performance schedule here.

"This music has been with me throughout my life, like a loyal friend. It’s not an exaggeration to say that singing has saved my life many times, in many ways. I will always be deeply thankful to my jazz ancestors—our African American foremothers and forefathers—who, despite brutal circumstances, created the miraculous art form of improvised creative expression. Whether we are listeners or players, this music transforms us. What else has the power to hold our suffering, convey our joy, let us raise our voices, heal our broken hearts, and grant us liberation to move forward with our humanity intact? 

I will continue to study and support the art until my life is over. And if my life ends by falling off a barstool on stage with a microphone swinging around and hitting me in the head causing a contusion that never heals… I should be so lucky to go out having done what I loved the most: singing. 

- Angela Bingham, 2026

Angela also teaches privately and conducts weekly jazz vocal workshops at the Durham Jazz Workshop, where she shares her expertise as a jazz vocal coach and nurtures the next generation of singers. Additionally, Angela's skills extend to her work as a voiceover talent, showcasing her versatility in the performance arts.