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ALBUM REVIEW October 12, 2017

Itaru Oki: Kami Fusen

Read "Kami Fusen" reviewed by John Sharpe

This second instalment from NoBusiness Records collaboration with the Japanese Chap Chap label under the name of trumpeter Itaru Oki constitutes a real find. One of the pioneers of free jazz in his native country, Oki moved to Paris in 1974, subsequently working with many luminaries including saxophonists Steve Lacy, Noah Howard and Sam Rivers, and has been part of some acclaimed releases since, Symphony For Old And New Dimensions (Ayler Records, 2009) in particular comes to mind. But this ...

ALBUM REVIEW May 23, 2017

Itaru Oki - Nobuyoshi Ino - Choi Sun Bae: Kami Fusen

By Glenn Astarita

Prominent Japanese trumpeter Itaru Oki and bassist Nobuyoshi Ino recorded this album in 1996 at a Café in Yamaguchi, Japan, and Korean trumpeter Choi Sun Bae flew into town just for this gig. Consequently, no drums or chordal instruments enable the trio to work from an open forum with few if any restrictions, especially when considering the free jazz aspects. Yet, they do convey a cozy group-centric deportment on these works consisting of variable ebbs and flows amid bright and ...

ALBUM REVIEW May 31, 2014

Itaru Oki: Chorui Zukan

By Eyal Hareuveni

Japanese trumpeter Itaru Oki is one of the forefathers of the free jazz scene in Japan; he was a member of the seminal, experimental Japanese trio ESSG, with pianist Satoh Masahiko, and drummer Togashi Masahiko, an improviser who was a role model for many Japanese musicians. Among them was pianist Satoko Fujii, and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, who collaborated and recorded with Oki. Oki moved to France in 1974 and since then collaborated with innovative free jazz musicians and free improvisers ...