LONDON — Maxi Jazz, the lead singer of the British dance band Faithless, died Friday night at his London home. He was 65.
The musician and disc jockey, whose real name was Maxwell Fraser, fronted the band that is best known for the song “Insomnia,” the BBC reported.
Former Faithless band member Sister Bliss tweeted that the singer died “peacefully in his sleep.” No cause of death has been announced, Rolling Stone reported.
“Sending love to all of you who shared our musical journey,” Bliss wrote. “Look after each other y’hear.”
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. 🙏💔 pic.twitter.com/4R88rg8Aza
— sister bliss (@thesisterbliss) December 24, 2022
“We are heartbroken to say Maxi Jazz died last night,” the band tweeted on its official Twitter account. “He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning and message to our music.”
Jazz was born in Brixton, South London, in 1957, according to Rolling Stone. He was a disc jockey for The Soul Food Cafe System in 1984, the magazine reported.
He formed Faithless with instrumentalist Armstrong, keyboardist Sister Bliss and singer-songwriter Jamie Catto, according to The Associated Press. Jazz and was the lead singer from 1995 to 2011 and again in 2015, Deadline reported. The group released its debut album, “Reverance,” in 1996. The album featured the group’s biggest hit, “Insomnia,” according to Rolling Stone.
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 a message to our music. He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and wisdom that was both profound and accessible. pic.twitter.com/VcFe7OpTh6
— Faithless (@faithless) December 24, 2022
The song sold more than 1 million copies and was voted the fifth-greatest dance record of all time by readers of the dance music magazine Mixmag in 2013. Their second single from the album, “Salva Mea,” also sold more than 1 million copies, according to The Guardian.
The band was nominated for Best UK Dance Act at the BRIT Awards in 1999 and 2002, according to the BBC.
The group’s follow-up album in 1998, “Sunday 8PM,” was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, featuring the hit single “God Is a DJ,” according to Rolling Stone.
©2022 Cox Media Group
