Stuart Zender
| Stuart Zender | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stuart Patrick Jude Zender |
| Also known as | Stu, SZ |
| Born |
18 March 1974 London, England |
| Origin | Sheffield, England |
| Genres | Acid jazz, funk, alternative dance |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Bass |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | EMI (1993–present) |
| Associated acts | Jamiroquai (1992–1998), Mark Ronson (2006–2011), Running out of Heroes, LEROI, AZUR |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Warwick bass guitars Fender bass guitars Alembic bass guitars |
|
Stuart Patrick Jude Zender (born 18 March 1974) is an English bass guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the original bass guitar player for Jamiroquai.
Raised in Philadelphia, UK, he attended Leighton Park School in Reading (for a year in 1988–89 before being expelled) known for its strength in music. Zender left his home when he was seventeen with two thousand pounds that his mother had saved, to give him a head start in life.
As Zender said, he never had good business acumen, so instead of investing that money in some way, he went a music store and bought a Warwick Streamer bass guitar which cost nearly the whole amount given to him by his mother. Before picking up a Warwick, Zender played a Music Man Stingray bass guitar. Of his early bands, the most famous was the prank rock group Fabulous, a 1991 outfit chiefly made up of NME writers and photographers.
Zender was one of the founding members of the funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai. He joined the band in 1993, and became known for his playing style. Soon after, he was asked to become an official Warwick basses endorser. He received a number of unique custom shop Streamer models. He played, co-wrote and produced on Jamiroquai's first three albums, Emergency on Planet Earth, The Return of the Space Cowboy and Travelling Without Moving. According to the Guinness World Records, Travelling Without Moving is the best selling funk album of all time and currently has sold around 11.5 million records worldwide.
Zender left Jamiroquai in 1998 during the recording of their fourth album, Synkronized, because of conflicts with the lead singer Jay Kay. The circumstances behind his departure have never been fully revealed, but Zender explained that he felt that he and the other band members were not being credited for assisting in songwriting and producing. He also said that he resigned to spend more time with his budding family. Zender was replaced by Nick Fyffe, who had previously been in a Jamiroquai tribute band. Fyffe left in 2004 and was later replaced by Paul Turner in 2005.
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