“When Stevie called us, we had to tell him the party was over. We said, ‘We’ve just blown out Stevie Wonder!’” Stuart Zender on sessioning for Stevie Wonder and supplying the funk to Jamiroquai’s first three albums

Stevie Wonder during Andre Agassi's 6th Grand Slam for Children Fundraiser. Stuart Zender, and Darren Galea of the musical group Jamiroquai perform on November 18, 1997.

Those of you old enough to remember acid jazz will recall the slippery-smooth basslines at the heart of the music made by Galliano, Young Disciples, Corduroy and the Brand New Heavies.

The slickest and most commercially successful of the lot came from Stuart Zender, who laid down three albums’ worth of funky lines in Jamiroquai, the band led by Jason ‘Jay’ Kay and propelled to stardom by the singer's unearthly songwriting and tabloid-friendly antics.