b. c. 1962, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Oxley’s parents were musically inclined and his mother played violin. At his mother’s urging, he took an unusual apprenticeship making violin bows. Drawn to the guitar as a youth, he played in rock bands, including the Suffolk-based group, Kashmir. From 1981 he attended the Leeds College of Music where he developed an interest in jazz. After graduating he moved to Paris, France where he freelanced from the late 80s, playing in bands backing various artists in different forms of pop. Oxley also formed and led the New Noakes Quartet, with Pierre-Michel Sivadier (piano), Kerry Galloway (bass), and Etienne Brachet (drums). The band recorded Through Green And Pleasant Lands in 1990 and Up To Here in 1994. Another group Oxley assembled was a trio with Andy Brown (bass) and Russ Morgan (drums) that recorded East Coast Joys in 1997.
Oxley also toured Europe and made visits to the UK, which is to where he returned in the late 90s. In 1999, he became involved with a new contemporary jazz club in Oxford, The Spin, where he played regularly with bass player Raph Mizraki and drummer Mark Doffman. He now formed a new band, the New Noakes Internationals, with which he toured and recorded 2002’s Blue In Black And White. In 2003, Oxley formed a touring and recording band, Curious Paradise, in which he was joined by pianist Richard Fairhurst and Mizraki, who were later replaced by pianist Steve Hamilton and bass player Steve Watts. Other musicians that have performed and recorded over the years with Curious Paradise have included drummer Morgan, saxophonists Mark Lockheart and Julian Nicholas, pianist Phil Peskett, and bass player Oli Hayhurst. Oxley also began performing regularly with Argentine guitarist Luis D’Agostino, with whom he toured and recorded. Another project that Oxley formed in the 00s, the appropriately named Eclectica!, has a repertoire based on musics from the Americas and Eastern Europe. The line-up for this group comprises Oxley (guitar), D’Agostino (guitar), Bernard Gregor-Smith (cello), and Lizzie Ball (violin).
Oxley has continued to practice the craft of making violin bows, becoming noted and sought after for his products.