| Stuart Zender | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stuart Patrick Jude Zender |
| Also known as | Stu, SZ |
| Born | 18 March 1974 |
| Origin | Sheffield, England |
| Genres | Funk, soul, alternative rock, jazz |
| Occupations | Bassist, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Bass |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | EMI (1993–present) |
| Associated acts | Jamiroquai (1992–1998), Mark Ronson (2006–present), Running out of Heroes |
| Website | www.stuartzender.net |
| Notable instruments | |
| Warwick basses Fender basses Alembic basses |
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Stuart Patrick Jude Zender (born 18 March 1974, Sheffield, South Yorkshire) is an English bassist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the original bass player for Jamiroquai.
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Raised in Philadelphia, he attended Leighton Park School in Reading (for a year in 1988-89 before being expelled) known for its strength in music. Stuart left his home when he was seventeen. Before he left, his mother gave him two thousand pounds that she saved, to give Stuart a head start with things in life. As Stuart said, he never had good business acumen, so instead of investing that money in some way, he went to the music store and bought a Warwick Streamer bass (which cost nearly the whole amount given to him by his mother). Before picking up a Warwick, Stuart played a Music Man Stingray bass. Of his early bands, the most famous was prank rock group Fabulous. The 1991 outfit were chiefly made up of NME writers and photographers.[1]
Stuart was one of the founding members of the highly-acclaimed funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai. He joined the band in 1993, and instantly became highly approved by the audiences for his playing style. Soon after, Zender was asked to become an official Warwick basses endorser. Zender 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 during recording of their fourth album Synkronized because of conflicts with lead singer Jay Kay. The circumstances behind his departure have never been fully revealed, but Stuart explained that he felt that he (and other band members) were not being credited for assisting in songwriting and producing. He also stated that he tendered his resignation to spend more time with his budding family. Stuart was replaced by Nick Fyffe, who had previously been in a Jamiroquai tribute band. Fyffe left in 2003 and was later replaced by Paul Turner in 2005.
After Jamiroquai, Zender had his own project called "AZUR" which signed a record deal with Virgin US. However the project was shelved and was then available on the internet for a short time. He has also worked with numerous artists, including All Saints, Omar, Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, Gorillaz, Samuel Purdey, Ms. Dynamite and Stevie Wonder. He also dated singer Melanie Blatt of former UK girl group All Saints. The two were together for seven years. They have one daughter together, named Lilyella. Some of Stuart's most recent work has been with his latest band "LEROI". They were signed onto Geffen Records in Los Angeles. The deal fell through after the heads of the company, Polly Anthony and Jordan Shurr, who signed them, were made redundant.
Zender left Los Angeles in the summer of 2006 to become the Musical director and bass player for Mark Ronson. The release of the album Version in 2007 proved to be a larger success than first expected. Thanks to the success he has performed with Ronson at numerous popular events such as "Radio 1's Big Weekend", "O2 Wireless at Hyde Park", "Global Gathering" and "Glastonbury", and festivals all over Europe including "Montreux Jazz Festival" in Switzerland and "North Sea Jazz Festival" in The Hague. They were also recently special guests on Jay Z's UK tour.
On September 26, 2009, Zender finally broke his silence on his departure from Jamiroquai on the Cool Lounge radio show. While going through the motions of heartache, Zender says that he then became quiet and introverted which his band mates mistook for vanity. "Jay actually called me a Prima Donna at one point I remember. And I was like, 'that's weird coming from you, mate!' "[2] Zender says that throughout the hard times he looks back on his time with Jamiroquai with fond memories.
Recently, Zender has just set up his own record label "White Buffalo Recordings" and has started working on new material for his own album.
Zender and Warwick have recently reunited to produce a Stuart Zender signature bass guitar. Zender began his career by playing Warwick guitars in 1993, when Jamiroquai was formed. All bass players wanted to know what was behind the funky bass lines that became the defining essence of Jamiroquai's music. TV appearances and magazine interviews followed revealing Warwick as the basses used. An endorsement soon followed along with many designs - the Iroquai "rug" bass, the all white bass including blue LEDs, the Chrome "Ender" along with many of the original basses used.
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