Josh Nelson

Born and raised in Southern California, Josh Nelson maintains an active schedule as a pianist, composer, touring and recording artist, and educator.  Josh has recorded on countless albums, films, and television, but also focuses on his own projects: Anticipation (2004), Let it Go (2007), and I Hear a Rhapsody (2009). Discoveries (2011) signaled a change in artistic direction with the unvieiling of "The Discvoery Project", an exploration into the world of live music with interactive visual multi-media components. His new album Exploring Mars (2015) ventures to the Red Planet.  At 36 years old, he has already performed with some of the most respected names in jazz, including Natalie Cole, Anthony Wilson, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton, Richard Galliano, Dave Koz, Seamus Blake, Matt Wilson, Sara Gazarek, Grace Kelly, Jack Sheldon, Tom Scott, and Peter Erskine. Josh studied with pianist Cecilia Coleman at Long Beach State.  Josh's compositions and performances have earned him many awards, scholarships, and accolades over the years, some of which include the Louis Armstrong Award, the John Philip Sousa Award, and as a semi-finalist in the prestigious 2006 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.