Jeff Leeds first started playing the ukulele in middle school in Kailua, with a classroom of kids learning traditional Hawaiian and Hapa Haole songs. He grew up being conscious and respectful of the Hawaiian culture, while having an awareness of the negative effects of colonialism.

 "My mom, Alice, lived in Hawaii for five decades. One day when I went out to our mailbox, a car stopped and the driver asked, “Where's the ukulele factory?” Later, I discovered that Joe Sousa, the neighbor, had started his famous ukulele shop right next to my mom’s house, in his garage.

A while later, my mom and I popped in to see his newly opened factory in Kaneohe; Joe picked out a ukulele for me. This very same ukulele, named "Kurly Koa", is featured along with Jeff’s Diamond Kanile’a ukulele on his new album Life, Love, Ukulele. 

 “I've always gone for pure strong melody, instead of flash. To me, the truest form of musical expression is the channeling of melodic lines." – Jeffery Xavier Leeds

After leaving Hawaii as a young musician and touring the United States and Spain, Leeds now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has played with: The Paul Collins Beat, Al Jardine of The Beach Boys, The Coasters, The Tony Miles Reggae Band and Daddy-O.

His bands have appeared regularly at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose and at the Top of the Mark in San Francisco, as well as playing Hot August Nights and the American Graffiti Festivals. Known as an accomplished musician, Leeds has always been an in-demand ukulele player/guitarist in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

  “The way Jeffrey plays that little ukulele is so good. It cuts the gig, and just makes everyone so happy.” - Drifters’ singer, and former bandmate, Billy Woodruff.