Fair Trade Fusion
Fair Trade Fusion plays worldrockjazzblues music. Glenn coined that term as a one-word answer for when people ask “what kind of music do you play,” because the music defies easy classification. It is a mix of fresh takes on classic rock and blues songs and originals with many world influences. Fair Trade Fusion plays covers from artists such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, The Band, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead and Van Morrison (to name a few) mixed in with unique, soulful originals. Glenn is influenced by music from Africa, Brazil, Jamaica, Ireland, and the Middle East among others and those inspirations show up in the songwriting and guitar playing and are featured on his album “Pool of Bliss.” Glenn put together Fair Trade Fusion as a way to bring these songs to the stage. He is joined in this endeavor by a group of talented musicians who each bring their own varied styles to the group. Fair Trade Fusion is Lee Marshall on bass, Dave Schilz on drums, Mario on percussion and second guitar, Jeff Johnston on keyboards and vocals and Dizzy on vocals. The band members, all seasoned musicians, hail from all parts of the country. They each bring their unique styles and high-level musicianship to the band. There probably isn’t a style of music that a band member or two hasn’t played at some point. All the elements come together in the deep grooves of Fair Trade Fusion.
Glenn
Glenn was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and has lived in the Washington, DC area, Chicago, and London before moving to Albuquerque, NM in 2005. He started playing guitar as a teen and it has been an obsession ever since. Over the years he added the mandolin, bouzouki, ukulele, clarinet, and keyboards to his bag of tricks. Glenn grew up playing classic rock and blues. He has played in many bands covering all sorts of genres including classic rock, blues, jazz, funk, folk, Celtic, jam-band, and assorted world styles.
He is always keen to hear new things and his interests and influences have expanded to include many African music styles as well jazz, Celtic, reggae, Middle Eastern and Brazilian music. All of these elements are evident in his playing and songwriting and can be heard on his album “Pool of Bliss.” Well-crafted lyrics are a crucial part of Glenn’s song craft and reflect his background as a writer. Glenn earned a degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University and has worked professionally as a writer and editor. He has happily spent the past many years as a stay-at-home father.
Lee
Lee was born in eastern Pennsylvania and lived in State College where he earned an engineering degree before moving to Albuquerque in 1999. He developed a appreciation for blues and jazz bass in high school and began playing bass in college in the early 90’s. Recently he has played with Spotted Doggs, Buddha Belly Blues Band, and The Hearts of Romaine. He dabbles with composition and keyboard as well. He operates a recording studio and does live sound for a few local bands. Everyone tells him that he looks really angry when he’s playing bass– which is odd because it’s one of his favorite things to do! So don’t be scared, he rarely bites.
Dave
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I spent a couple of years in Chicago, and after a four-year return to Milwaukee, I moved to Madison, Wisconsin. After 30 years there, I took early retirement and we moved to Albuquerque in 2010. I started playing drums around 1966 (I’m afraid to do the math). My influences at the time were Soul and R&B (very big in Milwaukee then) and the British invasion music (Beatles, Stones, etc.). I then got involved in “Classic Rock”, except at that time it was actually “Current Rock”. After moving to Albuquerque, I played in several bands, most notably 
Bayonne (50’s, 60’s and 70’s Rock, Rockabilly and Country), Little Hawk (Blues/Classic Rock), and 505 Magnum (Outlaw country). I have now joined Fair Trade Fusion, and have been there since. I enjoy the variety of the music we play and enjoy playing the different rhythms.
Jeff
Jeff was born in Boulder and raised in Gunnison, Colorado. He grew up playing an assortment of stringed instruments. He went to school at St John’s College in Santa Fe, where he started an improvisational punk band with some friends and later picked up piano and played in a small jazz band. After earning his bachelor’s in Western Civilization, he studied medieval Islamic political philosophy for his Master’s degree at Boston College before returning to New Mexico. His tastes in music remain eclectic; in addition to soul and rock music from around the world, he maintains an interest in early jazz, and is currently the Vice President of the Rio Grande Jazz Society, which works to preserve and promote traditional jazz. In his day job, Jeff is a database programmer.
