Unspoken Rule is an 8 piece jazz band featuring Jennifer Salisbury (vox) and James Mustafa (trumpet). Intrigue - Romance - Desire - Love - Heartbreak - Despair - Hope and everything, in fact, that makes life worth living. This is the story of ‘Unspoken Rule’, a jazz project built around the endless ramification of love, as narrated through Jennifer Salisbury’s songs. An enchanting singer with a natural sense of swing, Jennifer Salisbury has made a name of herself among the jazz community with her breezy renditions of the american songbook. When onstage, she channels the great voices of the ‘40s and ‘50s guiding her audience in a time-traveling roller-coaster of emotions, navigating the history of jazz. Her own songwriting is deeply influenced by the golden era of jazz; it’s almost impossible to tell apart the songs that she wrote herself, from the classic repertoire she draws from to tell the Unspoken Rule story; songs immortalized by Billie Holiday, Chet Baker, Doris Day, Benny Goodman, in unexpected arrangements by James Mustafa, turning the project into a balancing act between the vintage and modern esthetics. Led by the incandescent Jennifer Salisbury, the band comprises of a dream team of talented musicians, some of the best of the vibrant Melbourne Jazz community. James Mustafa, an inventive composer, bandleader and multi-instrumentalist, has been experimenting with jazz orchestration through the Melbourne Composers Big Band, his own James Mustafa Jazz Orchestra and his work with the Horns of Leroy and Backburners; Sam O’ Halloran is a fixture in the Melbourne Gypsy Swing Scene, after mastering the idiom in France; Trent Howard’s signature voice on the tenor sax has made him a favourite among the big band and swing bands; Aaron Rodriguez makes his baritone sax the gravitational point in any band that he plays in; Selene Messinis is a fiery pianist, constantly exploring a range of rhythmic patterns, from european minimalism to latin’ Hiroki Hoshino is one of the hardest-working and versatile double bassists in the community, having played with a vast array of greats, from Allan Browne and Tony Gould to Gerald Clayton and Enrico Rava; Tim Clifton has been playing drums since he was nine and since his graduation from the Monash University Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music he’s been performing alongside some of the most respected national and international jazz artists. Line Up: Hiroki Hoshino: Double Bass James Mustafa: Trumpet and Arrangements Aaron Rodrigues: Baritone Sax Trent Howard: Tenor Sax Drums: Tim Clifton Vox: Jen Salisbury Guitar: Samual O'halloran Piano: Selene Messinis "Jennifer's voice sparkles like antique diamonds, clear and true, and her original tunes sound like they're meant to take their place amongst the canon of jazz standards. Joining forces with wunderkind James Mustafa has elevated Jennifer's musicality to the upper echelon of modern jazz singers in this country" - Kimba Griffith