Indian Jazz Fusion Band Blending World Fusion Music Traditions — About
Melodic Intersect is an Indian jazz fusion band based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded by tabla player Enayet Hossain in 2013, the group blends North Indian classical music with jazz improvisation. Its core lineup is Hossain on tabla, Hidayat Khan on sitar, and Greg Hatza on piano and Hammond organ.
Fast facts
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Enayet Hossain (tabla) |
| Core members | Enayet Hossain (tabla), Hidayat Khan (sitar), Greg Hatza (piano, Hammond organ) |
| Based in | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Genre | Indian jazz fusion, world fusion |
| Albums | 12, released 2013–2026 — see the Discography |
| Label | AIMREC |
| Recognition | Inner Vision was nominated for Best World Beat Album at the 14th Annual Independent Music Awards; the band’s albums have been submitted for Grammy consideration in the 57th, 58th, 61st and 62nd Grammy Awards |
| Listen | Spotify · Apple Music · Amazon Music · YouTube |
The story
Melodic Intersect grew out of tabla player Enayet Hossain’s work bridging Indian classical music and jazz. Hossain, who began studying tabla at age six under his father, Ustad Hamid Hossain, has gone on to accompany classical musicians including Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Jasraj, Shujaat Khan, and Budhaditya Mukherjee, and now runs AIMREC, a label dedicated to Indian classical and world fusion music.
The band’s core trio brings together three different musical lineages. Sitar player Hidayat Khan is the seventh generation of an unbroken line of sitar players — the son of Ustad Vilayat Khan and grandson of Inayat Khan — and his great-grandfather Imdad Khan co-developed the surbahar (bass sitar). Keyboardist Greg Hatza trained as a jazz organist in Reading, Pennsylvania, earned a composition degree from the Peabody Conservatory and a master’s from Towson State University, and later spent over two decades studying Indian classical music himself, including sitar and tabla.
Melodic Intersect released its debut album, Global Vision, in 2014, followed the same year by Inner Vision, which brought the band its first industry nomination. The lineup has included a rotating cast of collaborators across its 12 albums — guitarist and sitarist Hans Utter, santoor player Tarun Bhattacharya, sarangi player Zohaib Hasan, and several Afghan classical musicians among them — while Hossain, Khan and Hatza have remained the constant core. The band’s most recent releases are Beyond Borders (2025) and Woven Paths (2026); the full discography covers 2013 to today.
The band has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center and Joe’s Pub in New York, and played sold-out shows at venues including Le Moyne College and An die Musik LIVE in Baltimore, among the dates on the tour page.
Influences
Melodic Intersect’s sound draws on the Indo-jazz tradition pioneered by guitarist John McLaughlin and tabla player Zakir Hussain’s group Shakti in the 1970s, and on the raga-based improvisation associated with sitar player Ravi Shankar. The band’s own description of its approach: raga structures meeting jazz chord progressions, with tabla’s rhythmic cycles and sitar’s melodic lines set against piano and Hammond organ.
What people are saying
“Combine[s] Indian classical music with western colors in a highly improvisational format,” with Hossain’s tabla playing “a real treat.”
Seamus Fitzpatrick, Staccatofy, November 15, 2017, reviewing Looking Forward
“Greg Hatza plays a variety of keyboards to team with the hands of tabla man Enayet Hossain on this fragrant collection of originals.”
JazzWeekly, January 2023, on Talking Hands
“A world music meets jazz fusion listen that’s never short on melody, chemistry and very meticulous interaction between the pair.”
Take Effect, March 2023, on Talking Hands
More reviews are on the Press page.
Get in touch
Explore the full discography or book Melodic Intersect for a concert, festival, or private event.