The Japanese avant garde trumpeter Itaru Oki passed away on 25 August. Like many other founders of Japanese free jazz (Masahiko Togashi, Sabu Toyozumi, Masahiko Satoh, Mototeru Takagi), Oki was a war baby. Apparently Nanri gave Oki his first trumpet lessons, showing him how to hold the instrument and form his first embouchure. He was a member of one of the first Japanese free jazz units, ESSG, with Satoh and Togashi, and first toured Europe in 1969. In spite of his long residence in France and his embeddedness in the European free improv scene, Oki maintained a close relationship with Japan.