About

Josh Childs is a pianist, composer, and software engineer born and raised in New Jersey. The youngest of 6 siblings with 5 older sisters, Josh became curious about the piano by listening to his sisters play when he was just 3 years old. Josh learned piano by ear throughout his early childhood and took beginner lessons with a local pianist until age 13.

Josh arrived at Jazz music later in high school after being introduced to Duke Ellington's music by a friend. This was the catalyst for Josh’s love and curiosity of Jazz history, improvisation, and composition. He quickly dove into the music of the great jazz pianists like James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Bud Powell, Art Tatum, Wynton Kelly among others and began lessons with Philly/South Jersey based organist and pianist Chris Simonini before heading off to college. Josh received a scholarship to study at the University of Vermont in 2016 and, although not a music major, he participated in several ensembles in the music department and learned a great deal from the professors and adjunct faculty. Josh performed in renowned trumpeter Ray Vega’s band regularly while in Vermont, sparking his love for the music of Mario Bauzá, Tito Puente, Ray Santos, Eddie Palmieri, and Poncho Sanchez. He graduated in 2019 with a double major Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Computer Science and completed a Master’s degree in the latter in Fall 2020. In February, 2020, a trio led by Josh opened for Grammy-Nominated Elio Villafranca's band at the Double E performance venue in Vermont. Although wanting to pursue a full time music career at this moment, the global pandemic began in March 2020, during which Josh found work as a software engineer at a local Vermont company. Josh left Vermont for Los Angeles in Spring of 2021 to work for SpaceX. Josh decided to leave SpaceX in December of 2024 and worked for Varda Space Industries until January 2026. Since then, Josh has been pursuing music full time, but still enjoys engineering projects in his spare time. This website is an example of one of those projects!

After moving to Southern California in 2021, Josh has been an active member of the LA music scene diving into various genres. Josh has continued his jazz studies in SoCal with Eric Scott Reed and has been an active member of his Leimert Park Jazz workshops. He has performed with artists such as Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Ralph Moore, Jacques Lesure, Aubrey Situmorang, Jeff Littleton, Kevin Kanner among many others and strives to be a part of the ever growing music community in LA. Josh is currently the pianist for the Moraga South American Jazz collective, led by percussionist and drummer Christian Moraga. He also teaches private lessons, arranges, composes, and performs with many other groups across LA.

Get in Touch

For bookings, press, and collaborations reach out via the contact page.