Maxi Jazz — 10-cut deep dig
This week we have released about 150 10" and 12" Reggae singles from Maxi Jazz's record collection. Maxi Jazz grew up on roots, dubwise basslines and UK's sound-system culture, then flipped all that knowledge into Faithless' widescreen dance sermons. Looking throught this collection gives us an insight into some of his favourite tunes (the initials MJ on the some labels in silver pen) or his use of them in his DJ set lists (the BPM sticker notes on the sleeves). This playlist provides a nice insight in ten quick steps.
- Dennis Brown – “Why Fools” (≈ 92 BPM) SongBPM
- UB40 – “Rat In Mi Kitchen” (≈ 91 BPM) Tunebat
- Sly & Robbie – “Boops (Here To Go)” (≈ 104 BPM) SongBPM
- Aswad – “Shine” (≈ 105 BPM) Tunebat
- Rhythm & Sound w/ Jennifer Lara – “Queen In My Empire” (≈ 126 BPM) SongBPM
- Johnny Clarke – “Crazy Bald Head” (≈ 142 BPM) SongBPM
- Shabba Ranks – “Mr Loverman” (≈ 173 BPM) Tunebat
- General Levy – “Breeze” (≈ 170 BPM) SongBPM
- Lee Perry & Full Experience – “Disco Devil” (≈ 166 BPM) musicstax.com
- Damian Marley – “Welcome To Jamrock” (≈ 77 BPM) Tunebat
Roots & reason. Dennis Brown's Why Fools brings the consciousness Maxi often channelled live, while UB40’s kitchen-sink skank nods to Britain’s every-man reggae the Faithless crew heard on daytime radio. There is unmistakable pop sensibility to some of this collection.
Low-end science. Sly & Robbie’s rubber-drop groove and Aswad’s sunny Shine show where those chewy basslines in “Insomnia” learned their manners.
Space & texture. Rhythm & Sound strip dub down to the bare essentials—exactly the sort of echo chamber Rollo and Sister Bliss loved filling with synth pads.
Rasta swagger. Johnny Clarke’s roots-rub-a-dub vocal attack rolls straight into Shabba’s dancehall croon, sketching the shift from message to pure mic control that Maxi mastered on stage.
Jungle fever. Levy’s rapid-fire Breeze and Lee Perry’s anthem Disco Devil carry the 160-plus BPM adrenaline Maxi dropped into Faithless DJ sets when the lights went red.
Modern roots. Damian Marley’s Jamrock eases the tempo back down, leaving the same hard-truth storytelling Maxi always kept close to the heart.
Ten cuts, one quick story: from Kingston’s conscious chants to London’s warehouse thunder—exactly the blend that kept Maxi Jazz walking the line between meditation and mayhem. Play loud, let the bass breathe, and remember the man with the perpetual half-smile behind the mic.