Leed fulfills jazz dreams with new album, concert

By Ben Wood

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 29, 2012

~~WHEN Melveen Leed was 19, she started drawing crowds to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Garden Bar singing with a combo. That gig ran 10 years. In those days she was heavy on jazz, knocking out songs in a clear, clean, powerful voice and never missing a beat. I became a fan and a friend of the young woman, the 1962 Miss Molokai, and always thought she could make it big singing jazz on the mainland. And she did get an offer to sing in Vegas but did not accept because she didn't want to leave Hawaii. So Mel continued on her merry musical path in Honolulu and showed she also had a great knack for comedy and even acting. Besides jazz and pops, she focused on Hawaiian and country music. She sang at the Grand Ole Opry in 1977 in Nashville. She also did two shows on Jack Lord's "Hawaii Five-0," appearing as Sally, a hands-on bar owner. But her love for jazz was never lost. Now, on her 69th birthday, July 18, Melveen will release her first jazz album, "I Wish You Love," at a dinner concert in the Ala Moana Hotel's Hibiscus Ballroom, 6 to 10 p.m. She will be backed by Jim Howard on piano, drummer Noel Okimoto and bassist Dean Taba. Melveen will introduce the male singing group Reminiscing to open the show. A seven-course Chinese dinner will be served before showtime. The cost for dinner and the show is $65; call 542-7299. …
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WHEN Melveen Leed was 19, she started drawing crowds to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Garden Bar singing with a combo. That gig ran 10 years. In those days she was heavy on jazz, knocking out songs in a clear, clean, powerful voice and never missing a beat. I became a fan and a friend of the young woman, the 1962 Miss Molokai, and always thought she could make it big singing jazz on the mainland. And she did get an offer to sing in Vegas but did not accept because she didn't want to leave Hawaii. So Mel continued on her merry musical path in Honolulu and showed she also had a great knack for comedy and even acting. Besides jazz and pops, she focused on Hawaiian and country music. She sang at the Grand Ole Opry in 1977 in Nashville. She also did two shows on Jack Lord's "Hawaii Five-0," appearing as Sally, a hands-on bar owner. But her love for jazz was never lost. Now, on her 69th birthday, July 18, Melveen will release her first jazz album, "I Wish You Love," at a dinner concert in the Ala Moana Hotel's Hibiscus Ballroom, 6 to 10 p.m. She will be backed by Jim Howard on piano, drummer Noel Okimoto and bassist Dean Taba. Melveen will introduce the male singing group Reminiscing to open the show. A seven-course Chinese dinner will be served before showtime. The cost for dinner and the show is $65; call 542-7299. …