I will continue to study and support the art until my life is over. And if my life ends by my 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's singing is characterized by the qualities of honest expression, solid swinging and an emphasis on the blues. With a clear, steady, rich alto tone and a penchant for improvisation, "She phrases conversationally, making the lyrics her own and creating the impression that she's speaking her mind and heart directly to you, as if the two of 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 with which they would greet a bad-ass horn player." (David R. Halliday, 20 year west coast veteran of jazz radio) Angela is steeped in the tradition of the iconic jazz vocalists and pulls material from both the Great American Songbook as well as more modern singer/songwriters.

A singer her entire life, Angela began studying piano and performing from the American songbook at age 5 in her home of the San Francisco Bay Area. Angela's parents were art gallery owners who specialized in American art of the 20th century, but they were also very musical people, so there was a lot of singing, listening, and performance in the Bingham household. Angela sang in many choirs and studied vocal jazz in her teens and early 20s under the direction of Roger Letson at De Anza College.  These were the days when she was learning the great vocalese tradition created by Lambert Hendricks & Ross and Eddie Jefferson, singing vocals as if she were a horn player. The obsession took hold. She gained further solo training through workshops and private lessons with some of the world's most well known jazz vocalists and instrumentalists. 

Bingham began to hone her solo craft on the bandstand in 2000 with guitar virtuoso Kenji Aihara and tenor saxophonist David Halliday while she was living in Salt Lake City, Utah. The urge for going to New York City came in 2005. Upon arrival, she quickly created a monthly residency for herself at Brooklyn's (sadly defunct) Total Wine Bar.  Between 2005-2011 she enjoyed playing with many of 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. Because she always preferred working with guitarists, she was one of the few vocalists booked regularly to play at the Bar Next Door in Greenwich Village. She sat in all over the city at various venues including Birdland, Smalls, and others.

In 2011 Angela and her husband Frank Longino pulled up stakes and made their home in the Triangle region of North Carolina. She frequently plays with her quartet featuring the genre-busting 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, where she plays twice a month with some of the area's top talent, including multi-instrumentalist Frank Longino, guitarist Kevin Van Sant and bassist Paul Creel, among others.  Angela sings monthly with the NC Jazz Repertory Orchestra big band under the direction of trumpeter Jim Ketch. She has headlined the South Carolina Jazz Festival (2016), The Koka Booth Amphitheater Josh Cellars Jazz Series (2025) and plays regularly at festivals and events. She is currently working on two new recording projects. Follow Angela's performance schedule here.

"This music has been with me throughout my life, like a loyal friend. It is 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 this miraculous musical 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 give 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 my 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 teaches privately and conducts weekly jazz vocal workshops at the Durham Jazz Workshop.