Editing Stuart Zender (section)

==Biography==

=== Early life ===
Zender was born in Sheffield, England. He comes from a family with a musical background: Zender's father was a musician, his uncle was a flamenco guitarist, and his older sister participated in [[Punk rock|punk bands]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Duff|first=S. L.|date=May 1997|title=Can Jamiroquai Take Over the World?|journal=[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]|pages= 28–33}}</ref> His family relocated to [[Norristown, Pennsylvania]], when Zender was seven years old.<ref name=":0" /> He moved back to England at age 15,<ref name=":0" /> where he attended [[Leighton Park School]] in [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], UK, for a year in 1988–89 before being expelled. Zender played the [[snare drum]]s for his school's marching band before he started to play bass at age 16. He practiced the instrument playing by ear to ''[[Black Market (Weather Report album)|Black Market]]'' by [[Weather Report]], and he was able to play all of the bass parts in two weeks.<ref name=":0" /> Before leaving his home at age 17, Zender's mother had saved for him £2,000 ({{Inflation|UK|2000|1991|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) for the occasion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2009/10/an-interview-with-bassist-stuart-zender-progressive-rock-update-with-brad-houser/|title=An Interview With Bassist Stuart Zender: Progressive Rock Update With Brad Houser|website=bassmusicianmagazine.com|date=October 2009|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-16}}</ref> Zender initially played in pubs with a punk rock band, but he had creative differences with the band. He recalled being "stuck onstage, playing these little four-chord songs. I would always jazz the whole thing up and start doing solos and things like that, and they would just tell me to shut up."<ref name=":0" />

Zender admitted that he never had good business acumen, so instead of investing his mother's parting cash gift in a traditional way, he visited a music store and bought a [[Streamer Bass|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 (company)|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.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

=== Jamiroquai (1993–1998) ===
Zender met Jamiroquai's original drummer Nick van Gelder through his sister.<ref name=":0" /> He auditioned for the band in 1993 as the band's bassist,<ref name=":1" /> and he played on studio albums from ''[[Emergency on Planet Earth]]'' (1993) to ''[[Travelling Without Moving]]'' (1996). From there, Zender was asked to become an official [[Warwick (bass guitar)|Warwick basses]] endorser.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} He received a number of unique customised [[Streamer Bass|Streamer]] models.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

Zender left Jamiroquai in 1998 during the recording of their fourth album, ''[[Synkronized]]'', primarily because of conflicts with the band leader [[Jay Kay]].<ref name=":38">{{cite journal |last=Mehle |first=Michael |date=9 July 1999 |title=Musical Two Rock Festivals Herald The Sounds Of Summer Mayhem Jamiroquai |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67486971.html/ |journal=[[Rocky Mountain News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120328/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67486971.html/ |archive-date=21 November 2018}}</ref> A spokesperson for the band said that Zender also expressed his desire to spend more time with his then-girlfriend [[Melanie Blatt]] and their new baby.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Bassist Stuart Zender Leaves Jamiroquai |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/j367ci/bassist-stuart-zender-leaves-jamiroquai |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220916003146/https://www.mtv.com/news/j367ci/bassist-stuart-zender-leaves-jamiroquai |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 September 2022 |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=MTV |language=en}}</ref>

===1998–present===
After Jamiroquai, Zender had his own project with the British soul artist [[Don-E]] called ''AZUR'', which signed a record deal with [[D'Angelo]]'s label.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/321/don-e__right_down_to_the_letter|title=DON-E: Right down to the letter|website=Bluesandsoul.com|accessdate=21 September 2014}}</ref> However, the project was shelved and was then available on the Internet for a short time. He has also played bass guitar with other artists, including [[All Saints (group)|All Saints]], [[Omar Lye-Fook|Omar]], [[Lauryn Hill]], [[D'Angelo]], [[Gorillaz]], Samuel Purdey, [[Ms. Dynamite]] and [[Stevie Wonder]].

In summer 2006, Zender became the musical director and bass guitar player for [[Mark Ronson]]. The release of the album ''[[Version (album)|Version]]'' in 2007 proved to be a larger success than first expected. He has played bass guitar for Ronson at events such as [[BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend]], [[Wireless Festival]], [[Global Gathering]], and [[Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury]], and festivals all over Europe, including [[Montreux Jazz Festival]] in Switzerland and [[North Sea Jazz Festival]] in Rotterdam. They were also special guests on [[Jay-Z]]'s UK tour.

Having left the Mark Ronson band in 2011, Zender started his own record label, White Buffalo Recordings, and formerly ran the [[music publishing]] company Made Youth Inc.

Some of Zender's most recent work was with the band Leroi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leroi - Stuart Zender music, videos, stats, and photos |url=https://www.last.fm/music/Leroi+-+Stuart+Zender |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Last.fm |language=en}}</ref> Zender explained they were signed to [[Geffen Records]] in Los Angeles but that the deal fell through after the heads of the company, Polly Anthony and Jordan Shurr, who signed them, were made redundant.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

In March 2023, Zender released the song "Happy Feelings", featuring [[Omar Lye-Fook|Omar]] and [[Ana Tijoux]], on all major streaming platforms.<ref>{{Citation |title=Happy Feelings (feat. Omar & Ana Tijoux) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q43m8SrOUAo |access-date=2023-04-04 |language=en}}</ref>

In November 2024, Zender released the song "Run" (originally recorded in 2000) on all major streaming platforms under the alias '''LeRoi74'''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyFWrDFHJQk |title=Run |date=2024-11-07 |last=LeRoi74 - Topic |access-date=2024-11-10 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>https://x.com/STUARTZENDER/status/1855017436552348077</ref>