Today, I am excited to be reviewing the new Selmer Jazz Flow 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece released by Selmer Paris. A few months ago, I started reading some great customer reviews about these new Selmer Jazz Flow alto sax mouthpieces and just as my curiosity was peaking, Ryan Lillywhite, the woodwind category manager at Conn Selmer, reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing a Jazz Flow saxophone mouthpiece. I, of course, said “Yes”, and the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece arrived at my door just a few weeks later.
Selmer Paris Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
Before I even received the Selmer Jazz Flow mouthpiece, I started doing some preliminary research on the mouthpiece just to see what was coming my way. While I was reading different facts about the mouthpiece I came across a description of the mouthpiece that said it had a facing curve length of 30 mm. The longest facing curve on an alto saxophone mouthpiece I had ever played was a 23 mm length curve and that was described as a really long facing curve by Brian Powell and Dave Valdez so reading that this Selmer Jazz Flow alto mouthpiece had a 30 mm long facing curve seemed like a mistake to me.
After chasing down the answer from multiple sources, Ryan Lillywhite at Conn Selmer sent me this message:
“In a nutshell, normal humans use the .0015 gauge to read the length of a facing curve but Selmer Paris looks at their CAD model which tells you where the first micron starts to curve. So if you had a .0000001 gauge it would get close to the 30 mm facing curve length.”
All that being said, to us mere mortals who have to use a .0015 gauge to measure a facing length, the facing length of the Selmer Jazz Flow mouthpiece comes out to about 22.5 mm which I would still consider a longer facing curve on an alto saxophone mouthpiece.
Selmer Paris Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
Here is a description of the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece from the Sweetwater website description (this is so perfectly written I wondered if perhaps AI wrote it):
The Jazz Flow’s rich timbre gives you an expansive sonic palette for a full range of expression. Drawing on its expertise in acoustic engineering and fruitful collaborations with professional alto players, Selmer has produced a mouthpiece that both complements and exploits the distinctive voice of the alto sax. Delivering a sound characterized by exceptional density, depth of grain, and luscious warmth, the Jazz Flow offers the versatility to excel in a wide variety of genres, from straight-ahead jazz to contemporary funk, pop, rock, electro, world music, and all fusions thereof. With that said, the right reed and embouchure will enable you to mellow it out and blend in beautifully with an orchestra. It’s this versatility that makes the Jazz Flow a perfect alto mouthpiece for just about any musical setting. Whether you’re a beginner who wants to get started with a jazz sound, an advancing student developing your own voice, or a professional who requires versatility and reliability, the Jazz Flow is your go-to alto mouthpiece.
The Jazz Flow is crafted of high-grade ebonite, considered the material of choice for mouthpiece fabrication for over a century due to its unique acoustical properties and superior durability. Selmer Paris uses ebonite made from natural rubber-tree latex that conforms to European Union standards for non-toxicity. Located within Selmer’s Mantes-la-Ville workshops, digitally controlled facilities maintain uncompromising quality standards. Here, Jazz Flow mouthpieces are meticulously fabricated on modified machinery formerly used by the Swiss watchmaking industry. To ensure unit-to-unit uniformity, this precision equipment is calibrated to tolerances of less than 0.03mm. In addition, a high-resolution 3D optical quality control machine scrutinizes every design parameter, guaranteeing the mouthpiece you get will be perfect and play flawlessly. The result of Selmer’s fastidious attention to detail is a mouthpiece that provides supreme playing comfort and optimal expressive malleability.
The Selmer Paris website also adds this information about the Selmer Paris Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece:
Inspired by the great mouthpieces that have marked the history of Jazz, this new alto saxophone mouthpiece is called Jazz Flow ; a tribute to musical improvisation and to one of the first SELMER mouthpiece models from the 1950s, the Air Flow. The ancestor of the Soloist, this very flexible mouthpiece offered musicians a wide palette of sound textures.
It is available in two openings: 5 (1.95mm)(.077″) and 7 (2.05mm)(.081″).
Selmer Paris Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece is made of quality hard rubber (ebonite). It comes in two tip openings of 5 (.077″) and 7 (.081″). I find it strange that Selmer just didn’t call these tip openings a 6 and a 7 but maybe it’s a French thing. Just remember that there is no 6 tip opening. Also remember, that the 5 (.077″) is very close in tip opening to the 7 (.081″). The difference is only .004″!
I have not played the 5 tip opening Jazz Flow mouthpiece but as someone who feels most comfortable on an alto mouthpiece with a .075-.080 tip opening, I felt very comfortable with the 7 (.081″) tip opening.
The Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece comes in a nice black velvety bag that is inside a beautifully designed cardboard box with what looks like mouthpiece engineering drawings and measurements all over the box. The tip opening of 7 is listed as well as the facing curve length of 30 mm.
The chamber is listed as round on the website as well as on the box and although it looks round from the tip end of the mouthpiece looking into the chamber, if you look at the photo of the bore further down in this review, the shape of the chamber entrance looks more like a round rubber ball that is pressed down on a flat surface to make the bottom of the circle flat rather than a round shape. It’s interesting how two different views of the same area can look markedly different from different perspectives.
Selmer Paris Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Selmer Jazz Flow mouthpiece has the “Henri Selmer Paris” logo beautifully engraved in gold on the top of the mouthpiece with “fabrique en France” (made in France) engraved below it. The words “JAZZ FLOW” are engraved on the side of the mouthpiece in what looks similar to the “jazz font” I use for writing music notation in Finale. The tip opening of 7 is machine engraved on to the middle of the mouthpiece table.
Interestingly, Selmer made the risky yet stylish decision to cut the shank of the mouthpiece at an angle. If you put the mouthpiece down on a flat surface by the shank end it will sit at a slight tilt to the horizontal table. Even at an angle, the Selmer Jazz Flow mouthpiece sits relatively stable on a flat service. This is an interesting and unique design as I have never seen a mouthpiece made with a slanted shank end like this before.
Selmer Paris Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece looks great to the eye. The ebonite is smooth and shiny and I don’t see an imperfection anywhere. The tip, rails and table look even, flat, precise and perfectly crafted. The mouthpiece tip rail and side rails are even and symmetrical. The shape of the tip rail matched the shape of the different reeds I used on the Jazz Flow very closely.
The baffle of the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece is scooped from side to side so that the middle of the baffle is lower than the outside edges of the baffle. The baffle does travel at a steady declining curve but ends at a medium height as it drops off into the round looking chamber. The chamber looks to be a medium-small sized chamber compared to the medium sized chamber of a typical Meyer alto sax mouthpiece.
I don’t feel much of a rollover baffle if any near the tip of the Jazz Flow mouthpiece when I run my finger over it but when I move the mouthpiece under the light I believe I can make out the slightest reflection of a rollover near the tip. The side walls look relatively straight to my eyes as they narrow heading towards the medium-small chamber opening.
Selmer Paris Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The diameter and beak profile of the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece is very close to the diameter and beak profile of a typical hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece. It felt very comfortable to me as I was play testing it. The body size of the Jazz Flow is similar to a typical hard rubber alto sax mouthpiece as well and my Vandoren Optimum ligature which I use on most of my alto sax mouthpiece reviews fit on the Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece perfectly.
I tried a variety of reeds with the Selmer Paris Jazz Flow alto sax mouthpiece including Rigotti Gold, BSS, Roberto’s Winds, Vandoren Java and two of the new Selmer “Premium Reeds” that Selmer was kind enough to send me with the mouthpiece. I decided to record the sound clips on the Roberto’s Winds reed only because it was the last reed I tried but all of the above reeds played really well for me on the Jazz Flow. I did find, that for me, all of these reeds performed best around a 3 strength on the Selmer Jazz Flow’s 7 tip opening.
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
When first playing the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece, my first impression was that it had a beautifully focused sound to it. The focus reminded me of a classical mouthpiece in that the notes just seemed to “slot” into place really nicely. The focus of this mouthpiece would also prove to be advantageous when adding reverb to the sound as you can hear when you listen to the last two clips of “The Summer Knows” with and without reverb.
I find a focused sound to be beneficial when it comes to reverb because there is a solid core to the tone that the reverb can fatten up and wrap around while still retaining the focused core sound in the middle. Many times, when I start with a mouthpiece with a big spread sound and then add reverb, the sound just ends up sounding like a “wash” of sound that seems too cloudy or diffused. I loved the sound of the Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece with the reverb added!
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Selmer Jazz Flow also had that quality I really love in an alto sax mouthpiece which I describe as a “crisp singing quality”. I’m not a big fan of an overly bright alto saxophone sound and I am definitely not a fan of an edgy alto saxophone sound. What I am a fan of, is that beautiful crisp brightness in the upper register that has body and depth to the sound. What I am describing takes me back to high school when I first heard the Phil Woods recordings “Musique Du Bois” and “Warm Woods”. To this day, when I play a mouthpiece that gives me that crisp singing sound in the upper register on the alto sax, I am in love.
The low notes were surprisingly solid and full in tone. When I saw the medium-small chamber I thought maybe the low notes would be a weakness for the Selmer Jazz Flow but they performed beautifully at full-tone as well as sub-tone. Well done, low notes!
Although I wrote a bit about the crisp brightness of the upper register, I also love the depth and texture of the sound the Selmer Jazz Flow produces. The notes sound rich and full of character in such a way that playing a ballad on the Jazz Flow makes the ballad sound more mature and seasoned almost. This is a hard characteristic to describe but I would relate it to playing a ballad on a Yamaha 4C as compared to on a great round chamber alto sax mouthpiece. The 4C can play all the notes but to me, it always sounds kind of sterile and one dimensional where as the round chamber mouthpiece has more character, depth and textures to explore if that makes sense. The Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece is a great example of having that character, depth and texture I am writing about.
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The intonation on the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece was very good up and down the saxophone and the mouthpiece was a great match for my Selmer Reference 54 alto saxophone. One area of attention for me is my middle “E” on my Selmer Reference 54 alto saxophone. This note can tend to be rather sharp for me on a mouthpiece with a smaller chamber and this was true for the Selmer Jazz Flow for me. This was not a big concern for me though because that note is sharp with every mouthpiece to varying degrees, it’s just that the Selmer Jazz Flow’s medium-small chamber makes that note even more sharp compared to a medium chamber or large chamber mouthpiece. The solution? Get used to it and become comfortable with voicing that note a bit lower so it is closer to in-tune. I believe I succeeded in this on the demo sound clips for the most part.
The evenness and smoothness of notes throughout the range of the saxophone when playing fast lines made the notes smooth and fast while that crisp brightness was a nice sound for the accented notes in bebop lines. The Selmer Jazz Flow responded immediately to emotive manipulations such as dynamics, bends and vibrato and was really fun to play on the bending high C# of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” especially (1:04 on the 1st and 2nd sound clips).
The altissimo register of the saxophone was easy to produce on the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece and the notes were easy to control and manipulate. The altissimo range notes were round, full and quite beautiful to listen to. *I do not usually play in the altissimo resister of the alto sax because it aggravates my tinnitus but I did test it out off mic and it performed well in that range of the saxophone. ( Listen to the last clip of Alex Nyman to hear some altissimo register playing)
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece had a good amount of power and volume when pushed. I usually tend to think that you can get less air through a mouthpiece with a medium-small chamber but I could get a surprising amount of volume out of the Selmer Jazz Flow mouthpiece.
I would say that the Selmer Jazz Flow could get me to a comfortable 8 in volume and maybe a 8 1/2 to 9 when I really pushed it but at that point I did experience some back pressure which is quite common for me when pushing more air through a medium-small or small chamber opening. I do imagine the Jazz Flow would be great as a lead alto mouthpiece because it has the focused core to the sound coupled with that power and volume when pushed. Someone who plays lead alto in a band will have to test the Jazz Flow mouthpiece out to see how it performs in that regard.
As a side note, something about the Selmer Jazz Flow reminds me of 80’s-90’s Brandon Fields. I was very into Brandon Fields as a young high school and college alto sax student. For me, Brandon Fields offered a more refined and beautiful alto sound than say David Sanborn who was another one of my idols. Dave Sanborn’s sound was raw, in your face and aggressive sounding even on a ballad. It was edgy and overblown at times. Brandon Field’s sound was prettier, rounder in tone, and more refined. Yes, he could push it to have more edge and angst in the sound but that was the exception and not the norm.
I feel like the Selmer Jazz Flow alto mouthpiece is similar to that sound concept. In funky modern alto saxophone sound terms, Sanborn’s sound would be like a Dukoff mouthpiece sound, Mark Russo’s sound was more typical of a bright Meyer mouthpiece sound and Brandon Field’s sound would be like this Selmer Jazz Flow mouthpiece sound. Smooth, flowing, beautiful, more refined sounding. This is all touchy feely stuff I am trying to describe so I might have lost some of you but those are my thoughts and this is my review, so I’ll stick with that…….
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
On the sound clips below, I try to give a good range and variety of alto saxophone sounds and textures so that you can hear the Selmer Paris Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece perform in different styles. There are four sound clips. (Five with the added Alex Nyman clip)
The first sound clip below is a recording of me playing a bunch of random lines and ideas like I usually do with no effects on the sound. This is just the sound of the mouthpiece dry. I try to run through a variety of bebop lines, jazz melodies, articulations and miscellaneous ideas up and down the range of the horn that you can listen to to get an idea of how the Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece sounded and performed for me.
The second clip is the same as the first sound clip, but I added reverb to the clip so that you can get an idea of how the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece might sound on a live gig with reverb or when played in a room with a natural reverb in it.
The third sound clip is of me playing “The Summer Knows” without any effects on the sound. This is my usual ballad melody that I love to play when trying out alto saxophone mouthpieces.
The fourth clip is the same as “The Summer Knows” sound clip but I again added reverb to the sound clip. I think this clip with reverb is absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself.
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
In my opinion, the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece is a great alto sax mouthpiece for those of you looking for an alto sax mouthpiece that can play with a focused sound that can be light and crisp or more fat and in your face. Like I wrote above, I think it sounds great for jazz playing and ballad playing but it also has a funky Brandon Field’s alto sax vibe to it for me on funkier stuff.
If you like the sound and look of the Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece by Selmer, you can find them for sale at Sweetwater. I have agreed to be an affiliate for Sweetwater so if you purchase a Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece from this link, neffmusic.com will receive a small commission on the sale while your cost remains the same. (This helps to support my site and keep the saxophone related reviews, articles and transcriptions coming to you…..). Sweetwater even offers the option to pay in three installments as well which is nice.
If you try a Selmer Jazz Flow alto saxophone mouthpiece or have any thoughts, comments or questions on this review, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve
*To hear the most detail from these clips it is best to listen to them from a computer with nice audio speakers or headphones rather than from an iPhone or laptop speakers. It makes a world of difference!
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-Roberto’s Winds 3 Soft Alto Saxophone Reed-No Effects Added
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-Roberto’s Winds 3 Soft Alto Saxophone Reed-Same Clip as Above-Reverb Added
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-Roberto’s Winds 3 Soft Alto Saxophone Reed-“The Summer Knows”-No Effects Added
Selmer Jazz Flow 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-Roberto’s Winds 3 Soft Alto Saxophone Reed-“The Summer Knows”-Reverb Added
Finally, here is a great sound clip of Alex Nyman playing the Selmer Paris Jazz Flow 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece as well. I believe Alex’s sound and recording embody some of the characteristics of the Jazz Flow I was trying to describe in the review but he ventures up into the altissimo range of the saxophone. Towards the middle of the clip (2:40) he plays a funky version of “You Don’t Know What Love Is”. Make sure to check out Alex’s Soundcloud page for other recordings he has made as he is an excellent player! Thank to Alex Nyman for giving me permission to share your clip here! *Alex is using a #3 Black Label Boston Sax Shop Reed with reverb added
This sounds really right, man. Especially for a certain niche. If I played more alto, I would for sure get this. Lot of possibilities for nuance. As usual, Steve an excellent review!
Looking at that chamber, I would say it’s a small chamber not a medium.
I describe it as a medium-small chamber in the review. I was going to call it small but I’ve reviewed mouthpieces with smaller chambers so I went with medium-small.
Very good sounding!
sembra essere molto buono per essere un bocchino nuovo.
grazie per l’eccellente recensione.
Translation:
Seems to be very good for a new mouthpiece. Thanks for the excellent review.
Hey Steve,
Thanks for the review and sax clips! Sounds great as always.
Metro
Steve, thanks for the review. Your sound has great ‘depth and romance’. somewhat reminiscent of the vintage NY Meyers. I feel these mouthpiece are a good value and may handle larger volume requirements. Thanks, Bob
Another great review, Steve! I’m starting to think you could make a mouthpiece assembled out of Legos sound like a million bucks. Your description of the tone is spot on. The alto mouthpiece market is very competitive right now, but I can see a place in the market for this piece. I suspect that someone with a less developed embouchure than yours would find this mouthpiece a tad darker and more focused than the middle of the market (e.g., NY Meyer Connoisseur)?
Thanks! I’m not sure about your question about a less developed embouchure. The truth is that all of our embouchures are different so that variable will effect the end result in different ways. That being said, I believe we can manipulate and change our embouchures to a certain degree to achieve certain sounds. Nothing is set in stone in my mind. Once you hear the sound you want in your head then you have to figure out how to produce it with the tools you have. I hear so many players say “Your sound is your sound” like it is written in stone. If they have that view then that statement is probably true for them because they don’t believe their sound can be different. I believe I can have any sound I want if I just work towards it over time. I have been told by a number of people that my sound leans to the bright side compared to most players (probably all those early years trying to sound like Sanborn and Brecker……).
I hear what you are saying, Steve. I guess I should clarify my point. Novice players on the saxophone in the first couple of years (or longer depending on how much they practice) often have an almost clinical tone. Each note is largely centered around the fundamental, harmonics are almost non-existent, and the instrument sounds almost sterile. It’s difficult to describe but even beginners (who listen to great saxophone recordings) quickly begin to notice that their own sound doesn’t sound very … for lack of a better word … “saxy.” This often starts their journey to find the mouthpiece that makes them sound like their heroes, which often leads to frustration because the mouthpiece is but a tool, but one has to develop one’s embouchure and tone through hours of listening and doing exercises specific to quality tone production (e.g., overtones, long tones, etc.). In my opinion, they are pursuing a warmth (that reedy goodness that only a saxophone possesses), a fullness (or fatness), and richness that often seems elusive. This is why a lot of novices go after high baffle, bright mouthpieces because they associate that Sanborn edginess with what a sax “should,” sound like. So when they pick up a mouthpiece like the one in the test, they often struggle to get that buzz they are seeking that a pro like you can easily coax from any mouthpiece.
You and I largely agree that darkness or brightness is somewhat influenced by the unique shape of our individual physiology, but a mouthpiece can facilitate a movement in a specific direction. Moreover, we agree that the player can take almost any mouthpiece closer to their own sound concept if they desire. The sax greats that we both admire have proven that with the Meyer. Guys like Russo (who could cut diamonds with his Meyer in the Yellowjackets during the Samurai Samba era), and Phil Kenzie (with that great rock and roll snarl) contrasted with the R&B smoothness of Grover Washington, Jr. and Phil Wood’s legendary tone. All of them achieved this great range of tone with medium chambered Meyers in the 5-6 range.
It’s funny, in high school and college I was forever chasing the Brecker sound on tenor and Russo on alto. As an adult, my tenor sound is more aimed at Grover (Winelight era) on tenor and Jay Beckenstein on alto. I have some go to mouthpieces on alto, tenor, and soprano, but I like playing with different mouthpieces (hence the ridiculous collection) for the different tonal colors that they allow you to sample.
Great review, Steve. I just finished reading your excellent review on the D’Addario Jazz select, the MP which I’m currently using (7DM). How do you feel the Jazz Flow compares to D’Addario? Which one do you prefer? Thanks.