Hypercolor, the bicoastal trio of guitarist Eyal Maoz, bassist James Ilgenfritz, and drummer (and UCI Music faculty member) Lukas Ligeti, presents a fresh take on jazz: the rawness of punk, the virtuosity of jazz-rock, the unrestrained energy of free improvisation, the constructivism of new-music composition, and the emotionality of indie rock coalesce to create an instrumental music of sheer originality. Basic components of music such as melody and pulse are called into question; they are strongly present, but have morphed into an ever-malleable conduit for an unusually vast range of expressive possibilities. Their first, eponymously titled, CD was released in 2015 on John Zorn's Tzadik label and met with wide critical acclaim; since then, Hypercolor has performed in countries from Italy to Indonesia.

Jointly sponsored by UCI Illuminations and the Department of Music.