Once upon a time there was a man named Santy Runyon who, among other things, played at "The Coliseum", which was then owned by one Alphonse Capone of Chicago. Santy, it turns out, was not only a very good musician and music teacher, but a very skilled manufacturer of custom mouthpieces (the "wind instrument" kind, not the "lawyer" kind.) He began making them in Chicago (yay!), kept playing after he moved his outfit to Beaumont, Texas to raise a family, and then finally settled in Louisiana, where he opened a manufacturing facility in Opelousas.

More on Santy Runyon -- the local boy who made good -- here.

This is the sound of the inimitable Art Pepper blowing "Besame Mucho" through a Runyon Custom 6 with a .074" tip opening. Or so I am told.

John Amato: And say hi to Laurie---Art's wife. She's a very cool lady and loves to hear from the fans whenever we post his music...