Josh Paxton moved from his native Ohio to New Orleans in the mid-1990s to study piano with Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans, earning a master's degree in jazz piano. The city got its teeth into him, and he stayed. He has since become a fixture of the New Orleans scene as a solo artist, group leader, and sideman.
His sideman resume runs deep: Maria Muldaur, Bruce Hornsby, the Afghan Whigs, Papa Mali, Big Sam's Funky Nation, the Wild Tchopitoulas/Wild Magnolias, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, the Pfister Sisters, and chanteuse Debbie Davis — a nearly twenty-year collaboration that included a live duo record at the New Orleans Jazz Museum in 2017. He also teams with bouzouki player Beth Patterson in the duo ZouKeys, and is a staple at WWOZ Piano Night.
Paxton is a recognized authority on New Orleans piano masters: his transcriptions of James Booker (The James Booker Collection, published by Hal Leonard) and Professor Longhair are standard reference tools for pianists. His own recordings include the solo piano outing Standard Deviation, and in September 2026 he headlined a solo tribute to Henry Butler at Snug Harbor.
