Tributes have flooded in for Faithless star Maxi Jazz following the shocking news of his death, aged 65.
The ‘heartbroken’ group on their FaceBook page, announcing on Christmas Eve that he died ‘peacefully in his sleep’ on December 23.
He was described as ‘a man who changed our lives in so many ways,’ with the group adding: ‘He gave proper meaning and message to our music.’
They continued: ‘He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and a wisdom that was both profound and accessible.
‘It was an honour and, of course, a true pleasure to work with him.
‘He was a brilliant lyricist, a DJ, a Buddhist, a magnificent stage presence, car lover, endless talker, beautiful person, moral compass and genius.
‘Rollo, Sister Bliss & The E-Type Boys.’
Remembering Jazz – whose real name was Maxwell Fraser – and Faithless’ Sister Bliss wrote on Twitter: ‘Maxi Jazz 1957 – 2022. We are heartbroken to share that Maxi died peacefully in his sleep last night.
‘Sending love to all of you who shared our musical journey. Look after each other y’hear.’
Reggae band UB40 also remembered Jazz as a ‘lovely guy’ as they recalled touring with him in 2017 with his band Maxi Jazz & The E-Type Boys.
Ritchie Neville from Five also shared in disbelief: ‘No, no, no. We’ve lost an icon of our time. #MaxiJazz. @faithless my teenage years were bless with joy of one the best #house tunes ever. Heart broken at this news. RIP Maxi. Time to sleep legend. Thank you for inspiring.’
The official account of Crystal Palace football club, where Jazz was an associate director, said they were ‘mourning’ the death of the ‘legendary musician’.
They added that the team would walk out to a Faithless track during their Boxing Day match in tribute.
Countless dance music fans and radio DJ’s paid their respects, particularly hailing Faithless track Insomnia as one of the greatest.
Capital Dance radio DJ MistaJam, whose real name is Peter Dalton, recalled meeting Jazz and coming away feeling like he was the ‘kindest man with such an aura about him’.
He added in his tribute on Twitter: ‘His words and performances touched so many of us and he’ll be sorely missed. Love to @thesisterbliss and the whole @faithless family. Rest in Power Maxi Jazz!’
Stig Abell – who hosts the Times Radio breakfast show – shared a clip from the Insomnia music video, writing: ‘If you are a certain age, this is one of the greatest dance songs ever. RIP Maxi Jazz.’
DJ David Pearce reflected on how Faithless became an ‘iconic force in UK dance music from the mid 90s and touched so many lives’ yet throughout their rise to fame he felt Jazz remained a ‘warm, cool, friendly soul’, dubbing him ‘dance music’s poet’.
Electronic band Faithless released a number of hit tracks including Insomnia, God is a DJ, and We Come 1 at the height of their career.
After forming in 1995, they produced seven studio albums, with their most recent being 2020’s All Blessed, and have released a number of compilation albums.
