English jazz-funk group Jamiroquai were one of the most popular funk group’s of the ’90s and early ’00s with a string of hits that saw immense success for the group both home and abroad. However, sad news has emerged today that one of the group’s founding members and keyboardist, Toby Smith, has passed away at the age of 46.

As Pitchfork reports, Smith was a founding member of the group in 1992, going on to perform on the group’s first five records, and was an important component in all the hit singles released in the group’s heyday. Having left the group in 2002 in order to spend more time with family, Smith remained relatively quiet in the music industry from then on, but would go on to find success as a producer and as the manager of rock group The Hoosiers.

Taking to Instagram to pay respects, the group’s original bassist, Stuart Zender, shared a post in which he refers to Smith as “the most talented musician I have ever had the honor to make music with”. Currently, no details have been released as to the cause of Smith’s death.

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