Over his lengthy career, Maxwell variously worked with Louisiana Red, Muddy Waters, Skip James, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, James Cotton, Levon Helm, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Rogers, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Adams, Ronnie Earl, Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin.
Maxwell was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2015 in the category Pinetop Perkins Piano Player, which was ultimately won by Marcia Ball.
[5] In the early part of the 1970s, Maxwell came to the attention of the guitarist Freddie King and supplied his piano accompaniment for a couple of years.
[5] Maxwell debut solo album, Maximum Blues Piano, released by in Tone-Cool Records in 1997, included backing by Ronnie Earl and Duke Levine on guitar.
In a review of the largely instrumental album, AllMusic noted that "Echoes of all of his influences can be heard throughout the tracks, including Pete Johnson on "Down at A.J.