Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

Today, I will be reviewing the Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece from the new Theo Wanne Essentials collection of saxophone mouthpieces that was released in the fall of 2024.  I recently posted a review of the Theo Wanne Essentials Contemporary 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece so will probably make references to that mouthpiece in this review as a way to compare the two alto sax mouthpieces.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The Essentials Collection of saxophone mouthpieces by Theo Wanne are described as offering “exceptional quality and superior craftsmanship, while still being affordable”.

The Theo Wanne Essentials collection includes three models for alto and tenor saxophones including the Concert, Jazz and Contemporary models and two models for soprano and baritone saxophones including the Concert and Jazz models.

Before we get to the review, here is some info from the Theo Wanne website on the Theo Wanne Essentials collection of saxophone mouthpieces:

“Traditionally, saxophone mouthpieces were either budget-friendly but low-quality, or high-quality but expensive. The ESSENTIALS COLLECTION changes all of that, by offering exceptional quality at an accessible price point. Theo’s lifelong goal has always been to deliver the best of both worlds—superior craftsmanship and affordability.”

The ESSENTIALS COLLECTION features a comprehensive range of saxophone mouthpieces designed for Soprano through Baritone, catering to every type of player. Each mouthpiece is meticulously crafted side-by-side with Theo’s renowned Signature Collection at our state-of-the-art factory in Bellingham, Washington, USA.

Key highlights include:

• Industry-First Additive Manufacturing Process (A.M.P.): A breakthrough in Additive Manufacturing, our innovative process ensures precision and consistency.
• Proprietary Material: Our new material delivers outstanding tone and response, with a resonance, density and feel reminiscent of hard rubber.
• Rigorous Quality Control: Unmatched consistency in manufacturing eliminates the need for extensive trials, as you no longer need to try ten to find a good one.

Theo Wanne Essentials Saxophone Mouthpieces for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophone

Introducing the ESSENTIALS Collection

About the Essentials Collection

A Mouthpiece for Everyone:

• Concert model: Designed for classical and band use, featuring a warm round tone, and easy playability.
• Jazz model: Perfect for most genres of classic and modern jazz. It has medium projection and brightness.
• Contemporary Model: A high baffle, edgy, mouthpiece for when you need lots of projection and edge.

Quality and Innovation:

• Crafted side-by-side with Theo’s SIGNATURE mouthpieces at our factory in Bellingham, USA
• Made with our proprietary, industry-first, Additive Manufacturing Process (A.M.P.™).
• The material is also proprietary, producing an incredible resonance and has a similar density and weight to vintage hard rubber.
• Quality control is held to the same high standard as our most expensive SIGNATURE models. Unlike most other affordable mouthpieces, the ESSENTIALS Collection is consistent, eliminating the need to try ten to find one “good one”. 
• Advanced Technology: Designed by Foremost Expert Theo Wanne: these are most consistent, advanced, and high-quality saxophone mouthpieces ever made.
• Made to fit every budget: The ESSENTIALS Collection was engineered to be high quality and affordable, all at once.
• Made In USA: Theo Wanne is known for making the world’s best mouthpieces, and many of the top saxophone players play his designs. They are manufactured using only the best materials and the most advanced machining.

Theo Wanne Essentials Full Line of Saxophone Mouthpieces

The Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece was shipped with the usual high standards of the Theo Wanne company.  The Jazz 7 alto sax mouthpiece comes in a perfectly designed box with stylish gold printing on it with all the details of the mouthpiece inside.  Inside the box is a black velvet drawstring bag that holds and protects the Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece during shipping.

The Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece doesn’t come with a ligature included.  I used a Theo Wanne Enlightened alto sax ligature that I have in my collection of ligatures that worked great.  The Essentials Jazz alto mouthpiece is a little bit thinner in size compared to a standard alto saxophone mouthpiece like a Meyer.  I tried a bunch of alto saxophone ligatures on the Essentials Jazz mouthpiece and although they all had to be tightened a bit more to hold the reed, they all worked on the Essentials Jazz alto sax mouthpiece without issues.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The Essentials Jazz alto sax mouthpiece material looks and feels similar to the Black A.R.T. material that the Theo Wanne Water classical alto saxophone mouthpiece are made of.  I’m not sure if this is the same material or something different because “Black A.R.T.” is not mentioned in the description of the Essentials line of mouthpieces.  It sure looks very similar except that the material of the Water mouthpiece is more shiny so maybe it is different.   In the description later in the review, the material is describes as a “proprietary bio-safe polymer”.  Regardless of the materials name, the material the Essentials mouthpieces are made of looks and feels solid and stable.  Theo describes the material as having a similar weight and density when compared to hard rubber.

The shank of the Essentials Jazz 7 alto sax mouthpiece has a gold band around it that has “THEO WANNE” engraved into the top of the band and “Made in USA” on the bottom of the band.  The Theo Wanne logo is painted in gold on the top of the mouthpiece.  Since it is painted and not engraved, I would think it would wear off over time from the frequent placement of the ligature on the mouthpiece every time the mouthpiece is played.

On the body of the mouthpiece is engraved a serial number on one side of the table, and “JAZZ” on the other side of the table.  Beneath the table is engraved the tip opening of 7.  This 7 tip opening equates to a .081 tip opening.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

Here is some more information from the Theo Wanne website on the new Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece:

ESSENTIALS: Jazz Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The Jazz Alto is the quintessential mouthpiece for all genres of jazz and big band music. Not too bright, not too dark and with just the right amount of projection.

It is available in 2 popular tip openings:

Size 5: 0.071″ or 1.80mm

Size 7: 0.081″ or 2.06mm

Material: A.M.P. – Proprietary Bio-Safe Polymer

Baffle: Roll-Over Baffle

Chamber: Medium Chamber

Ligature Fit: Standard Hard Rubber Alto Ligature (Check Out Our Theo Wanne Selection)  *ligature not included

What’s Included

• ESSENTIALS Collection Mouthpiece
• User replaceable Bite Pads
• Velvet Mouthpiece Pouch

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto sax mouthpiece tip, rails, baffle, table and chamber all look well made and functional. The side rails and tip rails are surprisingly thin considering this new A.M.P. manufacturing process that Theo is using to create these Essential saxophone mouthpieces.  The table looks flat, even and well made although the reed does hang off the rear of the table slightly.  The window of the Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece has a more traditional rounded curve to it at the bottom.  When comparing the window to the Essentials Contemporary model which I also received,  the Contemporary model window has more of a flat section on the bottom of the curve and the window of the Jazz model is slightly shorter than the Contemporary model window.

The Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece has what I would describe as a medium baffle.  The Theo Wanne website describes the Jazz alto mouthpiece baffle as a roll-over baffle but man do I have a hard time seeing that roll-over while looking at the mouthpiece.  The baffle looks pretty straight to my eye although I can see a slight concave curve to the baffle that reminds me of a ski slope that starts a bit steeper at the top and then curves to a lesser angle of decline and then flattens out a little as it travels down the one inch from the tip to the baffle edge that is scooped out at the entrance to the chamber area.

The sidewalls are straight and angle slightly inwards as they approach the chamber entrance. The sidewalls continue straight through that scooped out bottom of the baffle area and then the sidewalls open outward when they contact the mouthpiece chamber area underneath the bottom curve of the window.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The mouthpiece chamber after the scooped out baffle bottom and widening sidewalls looks to be about the same diameter as the bore of the mouthpiece.   Theo Wanne describes this chamber as being a medium chamber and if the standard for a medium chamber is a Meyer medium chambered alto saxophone mouthpiece, this mouthpiece does seem like a medium chamber after that scooped baffle end.  The roof of the chamber is nice and thin under the mouthpiece table.

Before I even played the Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece, I knew that it would be less bright than the Essentials Contemporary 7 mouthpiece I had just reviewed.  The baffle is quite a bit lower and the chamber looks slightly larger than the Contemporary model in that the scooped baffle starts slightly higher on the jazz model giving more space in that chamber area.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece played great with a variety of reeds and passed the suction test with every alto saxophone reed that I tried on it.  I ended up using a BetterSax Jazz Cut Unfiled #3 alto saxophone reed for this review because it played very well.  This is the same exact reed I used on the Essentials Contemporary mouthpiece review.

As anticipated, the Essentials Jazz alto sax mouthpiece produced a fatter and warmer tone than the Contemporary model.  The tone was a little more spread (although still moderately focused sounding) and seemed to have a bit more depth to the tone in place of some of the concentrated focus and brightness of the Contemporary models tone.  The tone reminded me of playing a really great Meyer than leaned to the brighter side but with more focus and power than a typical Meyer alto saxophone mouthpiece.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece played pretty evenly and smoothly throughout the range of the alto saxophone.  I loved how smooth and flowing the fast lines sounded as I was playing but also when listening back to the sound clips.  The articulation on the Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece was clean and crisp and playing bebop lines sounded great as you could articulate the offbeats while keeping the line connected and smooth sounding.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The intonation of the Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto mouthpiece were within normal parameters on my Selmer Reference 54 alto saxophone.  I would say that the intonation was excellent.

The Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece had a substantial amount of power and volume available to it.  In comparison to the Contemporary model, I thought that the Jazz model was maybe one level lower in volume so if the Contemporary was a 9 to 9 1/2 on the 1-10 volume scale, the Jazz model would be an 8 to 8 1/2.  An 8 or 8 1/2 is pretty respectable and could certainly cut through in a lead alto sax big band setting without being as bright and edgy in tone as the Contemporary model alto saxophone mouthpiece.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

The Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece had a fuller and thicker low end compared to the Essentials Contemporary alto sax mouthpiece.  I had no problem popping out the low notes at full volume which produced a nice and thick full bodied tone down low.  In my opinion, the low notes were comparable to those produced by an alto sax mouthpiece like a Meyer or Vandoren V16 alto mouthpiece.  Sub-toning was effortless and made the low notes more velvety and lush sounding.  My tendency is to over use the sub-tone effect down low but one thing to notice in the sound clips is how soft the fade out could get at the end of those lines down low when sub-toning on the Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece.

I usually don’t play the altissimo register on the alto saxophone because of my hearing issues and didn’t for this review but the Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz mouthpiece would function well in that range of the saxophone with that medium baffle and bit of a squeezed chamber entrance.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 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 how the Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece performs in different styles.  I demonstrate the sound of the Essentials Jazz alto mouthpiece with all my usual lines and melodies so if you want to compare it to my other sound clips and reviews, you should be able to find many of the same lines to compare this sound clip to.

The first sound clip is recorded dry and the second sound clip has reverb added.  I play “On the Sunny Side of the Street” with reverb on the second clip as I do in the Theo Wanne Essentials Contemporary mouthpiece review so you can compare the sound clips and hear if you prefer one alto sax mouthpiece over the other as far as sound.

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

In my opinion, the Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece is a great medium baffle alto saxophone mouthpiece for those looking for a beautiful sounding alto saxophone tone that leans to the bright side while still being well rounded and versatile.  The Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece gives the player a focused fat sound while also giving a good amount of brightness and power when needed. The Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece can be used for contemporary music but is also a great choice for jazz, big band and small group settings.  Theo Wanne and his team have done a terrific job designing a versatile mouthpiece perfect for jazz alto saxophonists while still being relatively affordable compared to most of the other options out on the market today.

If you like the sound and look of the Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece by Theo Wanne, you can find them at Theo Wanne’s website (save 15% by using this link). I have agreed to be an affiliate for Theo Wanne so if you purchase a Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece from this link (save 15% by using this link), Neffmusic will receive a small commission on the sale.  This helps to support my site and keep the saxophone related reviews, articles and transcriptions coming to you.

If you are lucky enough to play a Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz alto saxophone mouthpiece or have any other thoughts or comments, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.  Thanks,  Steve

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax #3 Jazz Cut Unfiled Reed – No Effects

Theo Wanne Essentials Jazz 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – “On the Sunny Side of the Street” –  BetterSax #3 Jazz Cut Unfiled Reed – Reverb Added