Stuart Zender

Born in Sheffield in 1974 and partly raised near Philadelphia before returning to England, Stuart Zender developed an early bass style rooted in funk, soul, jazz-funk and acid jazz. Joining Jamiroquai in 1992 at the end of his teens, Zender took part in the group's early recordings and played on Emergency on Planet Earth (1993), The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994) and Travelling Without Moving (1996), with a supple, syncopated and highly melodic style that was part of the energy of the British acid jazz scene in the 1990s. After leaving Jamiroquai in 1998, he pursued a career as a studio and touring musician, collaborating with artists such as Lauryn Hill, Omar, All Saints, Mark Ronson, Incognito and Zak Abel. His trajectory spans contemporary soul, pop, groove and more rock-oriented crossings, while retaining a bassist's approach in which rhythm, lyrical bass lines and precise timing remain central. Stuart Zender thus appears as a British musician whose path connects the rise of London acid jazz to the soul and pop productions of the 2000s and 2010s.