Maxwell Alexander Fraser (14 June 1957 – 23 December 2022), better known by his stage name Maxi Jazz, was a British musician, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ. He was the lead vocalist of British electronic band

Faithless Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...

from 1995 to 2011 and 2015 to 2016.

Music career

Hip hop beginnings

Maxi Jazz was born Maxwell Alexander Fraser on 14 June 1957 in Hackney, East London, and moved to

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, South London when he was a toddler. He founded the Soul Food Café System as a DJ in 1984, having discovered

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

a year earlier. He first aired the sound as a DJ calling it "In the Soul Kitchen with DJ Maxi Jazz" on

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

station Reach FM London from 1985 to 1986. He transferred this sound to pirate radio station LWR in 1987. In 1989, the Soul Food Café Band was picked up by Tam Tam Records, which is the dance wing of Savage Records. Jazz founded Namu Records in 1992 to release the band's material in the form of three

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

and the band toured as a support act to various artists, including

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai ( ) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...

in Amsterdam, Soul II Soul in Barcelona, Galliano in Switzerland, and

Jason Rebello Jason Matthew Rebello (born 29 March 1969) is a British pianist, songwriter, and record producer. Career Rebello was born in Carshalton, Surrey, England. His father's family is from India. Rebello was raised a Catholic in Wandsworth, London. H ...

in Brazil. In 1996, Maxi Jazz and the Soul Food Cafe recorded and released the album ''Original Groovejuice Vol. 1'' with Revco Records in Deptford, South London. After the band dissolved, Jazz worked throughout Europe, and took time out to collaborate with

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

on the ''Invaders of the Heart'' album, followed by live dates with the Wobble Collective.

Faithless

In 1995, Jazz met Rollo Armstrong in a studio and went on to form

, together with Jamie Catto and Sister Bliss. As a

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religion led by Minoru Harada since December 2023 based on the teachings of the 13th-century Buddhist priest Nichiren. It claims the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhist group ...

Buddhist, his strong beliefs and the band's own strong individual beliefs contrast with the name 'Faithless', which was chosen during the writing of the song " Salva Mea". Armstrong had asked Jazz to write and sing on a dance track about frustration, which was something to which Jazz could relate from his own experiences. The subject matter of Jazz's lyrics range from upbeat to melancholic. His work covered a range of personal and social issues, including current affairs and social commentary. In 2006, Jazz provided the vocals for the hit

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

track " Dance4life". He also sang alongside

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

on the single " My Culture" from the collaborative album '' 1 Giant Leap''. In 2009, he raised £1,440,000 for the UK charity

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

by singing non stop for 24 hours. Jazz celebrated his 50th birthday on 15 June 2007 in Hyde Park, London, with Faithless headlining the O2 Wireless Festival that evening. In the encore, he was greeted by thousands of fans wishing him happy birthday. He performed and recorded with Faithless from their founding in 1995 until 2011. He re-joined the group in 2015 and 2016 while they performed under the Faithless 2.0 banner. His final live appearance with the band was at Ibiza Rocks on 31 August 2016.

Maxi Jazz and the E-Type Boys

In 2015, he began fronting a newly assembled band of musicians named Maxi Jazz & the E-Type Boys. Jazz provided lead vocals and also played guitar in the band. They made a number of festival appearances, including some at the same events at which Faithless were billed.

Other

On 20 October 2018, he performed on stage as part of the Gatecrasher Classical event at Sheffield Arena, celebrating 25 years of the Gatecrasher brand. In 2022, Jazz provided vocals on the Vintage Culture single "Commotion".

Motor sports

2007-04-01 PCC GB Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Redline Racing Faithless Maxi Jazz

Jazz founded Maxi Jazz Racing in 2000 when he asked Rae Claydon to enter him in the Ford Fiesta Championship for the 2000 season, but was only able to race occasionally due to his musical obligations. On 9 December 2001, Jazz was involved in a serious car accident, causing several of Faithless's UK tour dates to be postponed. In 2005, he raced a Ginetta G20 in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, and in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

he raced in the

Porsche Carrera Cup GB The Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain is a multi-event One-Design, one-make Motorsport, motor racing series that takes place in the United Kingdom for the Porsche 911 GT3. Being the fastest and most successful single marque GT championship in t ...

in a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup. Jazz's notable car collection was featured on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

's '' Vroom Vroom'' motoring show. He owned a Subaru Impreza P1, a Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000, a Ford Fiesta Zetec S, a Ford Sierra Cosworth, and a Marcos LM500 R. He also owned a

Nissan 350Z : The Nissan 350Z (known as Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) in Japan) is a two-door, two-seater sports car that was manufactured by Nissan, Nissan Motor Corporation from 2002 until 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Nissan Z-car, Z-car line. ...

, which is referenced in the 2010 Faithless song "Flyin' Hi".

Personal life

Jazz lived in

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

, in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

. Jazz spent 3 years of his childhood living in Cape Town, South Africa where he attended Belmor Primary School in Hanover Park. A Soka Gakkai Buddhist, he advocated the work of the Burma Campaign UK. A supporter of Crystal Palace F.C., in September 2012 he became an associate director of the club. In 2011, a portrait of Jazz was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including in a solo exhibition at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. The portrait was shortlisted for the 2011 BP Portrait Award and exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery.

Death

Jazz died "peacefully in his sleep" at his home in South London, after a long illness, on 23 December 2022 at the age of 65. His funeral was held on 30 January 2023.

Tributes

Faithless shared their tribute, "He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning and message to our music. 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."

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...

, sister of Rollo and a regular collaborator with Faithless tweeted her tribute, "RIP Maxi. 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." On 28 May 2023, Crystal Palace supporter's group, the Holmesdale Fanatics, unveiled their tribute to Jazz, with a full stand

tifo ''Tifo'' () is the phenomenon whereby ''tifosi'' of a sports team make a visual display of any choreographed flag, sign or banner in the stands of a stadium, mostly as part of an association football match. ''Tifo'' are most commonly seen in ...

display of his face, the largest seen in English football, alongside lyrics from "God Is a DJ", reading "This is our church. This is where we heal our hurts".

Discography

With Faithless

With 1 Giant Leap

* 2002 " My Culture" (with 1 Giant Leap and

)

With Soul Food Cafe

* 1991 "Through the Mirror / Standin' in My Dust" (with Soul Food Cafe) * 1996 ''Original Groovejuice'' (with Soul Food Cafe)

With the E-Type Boys

* 2016 ''Bitter Love / Mass Destruction'' EP (as Maxi Jazz & the E-Type Boys) * 2016 "Change Our Destiny" (as Maxi Jazz & the E-Type Boys) * 2016 ''Simple..Not Easy'' (as Maxi Jazz & the E-Type Boys)

Solo

* 1989 "Rock to Dis" (with Jamaica Mean Time) * 1990 "Do Your Dance" * 1992 "Summertime" (with

) * 1992 ''The Maxi-Single (More of What You Need)'' * 1992 ''5 Track'' E.P. * 1996 "Brixton (Baby)" * 2006 " dance4life" (with

), No. 3 NL, No. 5 BEL, No. 10 FIN * 2011 "Where the Heart Is" (with Benji Boko) * 2012 "Tomorrow's Day" (with Trenton and Free Radical) * 2014 "In My Brain" (with the Hempolics) * 2022 "Commotion" (with Vintage Culture)

References

External links

*
Maxi Jazz Racing
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jazz, Maxi 1957 births 2022 deaths English male rappers English Buddhists Black British male rappers Members of Sōka Gakkai Musicians from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Brixton Rappers from the London Borough of Lambeth British GT Championship drivers English racing drivers English socialists English trance musicians English electronic musicians English people of Jamaican descent Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers Singers from the London Borough of Lambeth 20th-century English sportsmen