The Get Free Music Series, presented by the music program of University of Illinois Springfield, is the city’s only officially sanctioned platform for live, fully-improvised music. The fall 2026 series will kick off this Friday with a special concert featuring California-based cornet player and violinist Dan Clucas, “known for his avant-garde and free jazz explorations,” according to the event’s press release. Clucas will perform with UIS faculty members and Get Free organizers Adam Larison (an instructor in the UIS music program) and Richard Gilman-Opalsky (a professor in the UIS School of Politics and International Affairs), both of whom are seasoned improvising musicians on guitar and drums, respectively.
Dan Clucas has played with a wide variety of notable jazz and creative musicians, including punk-jazz stalwarts such as Universal Congress Of. This will be the second time Clucas has graced Get Free with his musical presence, as he played last year as part of a group called Orchid.
“Adam and I were especially struck by his cornet and violin playing at that concert,” said Gilman-Oplalsky. “We were just blown away by Dan. And he is aware of the music that Adam and I do, so he’s very happy to do a trio with us, which everyone’s quite excited about.”
The Get Free organizers have begun bringing more improvised music to the region by developing a working relationship with Dissonant Works, a venue in St. Louis dedicated to experimental and improvised music.
“I feel like we are bringing some great music into our city through the series,” said Gilman-Opalsky. “We’re able to set up a performance for a visiting artist at UIS and then the next day have them booked at Dissonant Works.”
The St. Louis space has recently hosted shows from a variety of jazz luminaries, including a trio consisting of multi-instrumentalists William Parker and Cooper-Moore with drummer Hamid Drake, as well as shows by Chicago jazz legend Roscoe Mitchell and contemporary master pianist Matthew Shipp. The day after this Friday’s Get Free concert, Clucas, Larison and Gilman-Opalsky will head about 90 miles south to Dissonant Works to participate in an expansive concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth.
This Friday’s Get Free concert will take place starting at 7 p.m. at the UIS Field Station overlooking Lake Springfield (9 Club Area, off West Lake Shore Drive, just north of the UIS campus), for a suggested donation of $5.
Scott Faingold was the founding editor of Activator magazine and has been a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast. He can be reached at scottfaingold@gmail.com.
