Maxi Jazz, the British musician, rapper, songwriter, DJ, and lead vocalist of electronic act Faithless, has died. The news was confirmed on Faithless’ official social media accounts. “We are heartbroken to say Maxi Jazz died peacefully in his sleep last night. He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning and message to our music,” the post reads. Jazz was 65.

The note continues: “He was also 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.”

Born Maxwell Fraser in Brixton in 1957, Jazz founded the Soul Food Cafe System as a DJ in 1984 and aired “In the Soul Kitchen with DJ Maxi Jazz” on pirate radio station Reach FM London. The Soul Food Cafe Band was picked up by Tam Tam Records in 1989. Jazz then founded Namu Records in 1992, and his band toured around the world with acts like Jamiroquai, Soul II Soul, and Jason Rebello. After the band broke up, Jazz collaborated with Jah Wobble on the Invaders Of The Heart album.

In 1995, Jazz, Rollo, and Sister Bliss formed house/trance act Faithless. They released their first album, Reverence in 1996. It featured now-classic tracks like “Don’t Leave,” “Salva Mea,” and “Insomnia,” and it reached #26 on the UK Albums Chart. Faithless released six more albums between 1998 and 2020, including: Sunday 8PM, which featured the global hit “God Is A DJ” (1998), Outrospective (2001), No Roots, which debuted at #1 in the UK (2004), To All New Arrivals (2006), The Dance (2010), and All Blessed (2020).

In 2015, Jazz formed a new group called Maxi Jazz & The E-Type Boys; they played at a number of festivals, including some where Faithless were also billed.

Paying tribute to Jazz, producer and DJ Mistajam tweeted: “I only met him IRL once and he was the kindest man with such an aura about him. His words and performances touched so many of us and he’ll be sorely missed. Love to Sister Bliss and the whole Faithless family. Rest in Power Maxi Jazz.” Dido, the younger sister of Faithless’ Rollo, tweeted, “It was an absolute honour to know you, be inspired by you, listen to you and sing with you. Your voice and words will never leave my head.”