Rico D'Addario WoodWinds Dadario Lead for Tenor Saxophone, USDA Organic Certified, SELECT JAZZ FILED ORSF05TSX3M [Hardness: 3M], Pack of 5

Q: When in a jazz setting, why are these better to use than regular reeds?

Reeds are a personal thing . What works for one person may not work for another. Some mouthpieces work better with certain reeds. Vandoren seem to last longer than other reeds I've tried. In a jazz setting many jazz saxophonists Like playing a wide tipped mouthpiece,Mainly it sounds better for jazz .

Q: Which us the difference between the "filed" and the "unfiled"?

This is a little difficult to describe in words. Google saxophone reed and click on images. You should see two types of reeds, one that has a half moon at the base of the cut portion and one that has a straight line along the bottom of the cut portion. The half moon reed is "unfiled", the one with the straight line is "filed". I hope that helps.

Q: Has anyone purchased these reeds in the last year and can tell me they are as good as when rico owned the company and made the reeds? or not?!?!

I can not tell any difference whatsoever.

Q: difference of filed vs..unfiled?

A filed reed means it has a straight file across the vamp of reed. A unfiled reed doesn't. A filed reed is usually played on darker sounding mouthpieces to make the sound brighter .An unfiled reed is played on mouthpieces that have more resistance to make them play easier. Best is to try both and see which works best with your mouthpiece.