XT
XT is the London duo of saxophonist Seymour Wright and drummer Paul Abbott. Their improvised music sets amplified and electronically extended saxophone and drums against samples, loops and synthetic sounds, and much of it has been recorded at Cafe OTO in London. They have also worked closely with pianist Pat Thomas. XT made Palina'tufa (Empty Editions) during a two-week studio residency in Hong Kong.
Members
Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* Zurich
Pianist Pat Thomas, saxophonist Seymour Wright (both of [ahmed]) and drummer Paul Abbott - the latter two working as XT - deliver a remarkable set of new music, each, re-imagining improvisation and synthetic ideas with acoustic and electronic tools. This monumental new suite Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* released by We Jazz Records on 30th January 2026 is spread across three release formats, the complete album includes more than 2 hours and 15 minutes of music recorded live in London and Zuric…
Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* London
Pianist Pat Thomas, saxophonist Seymour Wright (both of [ahmed]) and drummer Paul Abbott - the latter two working as XT - deliver a remarkable set of new music, each, re-imagining improvisation and synthetic ideas with acoustic and electronic tools. This monumental new suite Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* released by We Jazz Records on 30th January 2026 is spread across three release formats, the complete album includes more than 2 hours and 15 minutes of music recorded live in London and Zuric…
Our/s Bouture(s)
Anne Gillis (Paris) is a composer and performer since the eighties, Paul Abbott (Antwerp ) is a musician, drummer, writer, and Seymour Wright (London) is a saxophonist and writer. In 2021, during Covid restrictions, the trio of Anne Gillis and XT (Paul Abbott and Seymour Wright) developed a piece remotely together for Café Oto online radio broadcast program. A one-hour piece titled “Our/s Bouture(s)” was ‘broadcast’ on 1 June 2021 to online audience, and we present a complete program with carefu…
Akisakila / Attitudes of Preparation (Mountains, Oceans, Trees)
*Limited edition of 400 copies.* Attitudes of Preparation (Mountains, Oceans, Trees) is a collaboration between XT (the duo of Paul Abbott and Seymour Wright) and pianist Pat Thomas. Across the two LP sides (80 minutes), and four gatefold panels (13,331 words) together they reflect on, and take inspiration from, the late pianist, composer, poet Cecil Taylor. On 12 August 2018, as part of a Cafe OTO tribute to the recently deceased Taylor, the trio perform live a 'version' of The Cecil Taylor Un…
Deorlaf X
New music from XT (saxophone player Seymour Wright and percussionist Paul Abbott) in the form of an exhilarating, super compressed, reflective re-assembling of a dozen years working together. Re-animating free improvisation with a Chicago house palette, Deorlaf X is made up of frenetic slabs of mutated multiphonics and triggered percussion, suspended in bouts of possessed reflexive quiet.
Where the duo’s 2019 release Palina'tufa on Empty Editions focused primarily on a response to the real (and …
Palina'tufa
Empty Editions presents Palina’tufa, the newest work from saxophonist Seymour Wright and percussionist Paul Abbott’s long-running duo XT. Wright and Abbot’s respective practices have been marked by a simultaneous engagement (with) and desire to challenge the limitations (of) the British tradition of improvised music - represented by groups such as AMM and John Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Ensemble. This album charts a new trajectory for Wright and Abbott, as they draw on recent live collaborations…
Pah'
Edition of 150 copies. Seymour Wright and Paul Abbott have yet to become household names in America, even within the confines of experimental and improvised music circles. XT: Pah’ (POTTR1306) on Pleasure of the Text Records is the document that will change all that. Pah’ is a monolithic document of the shared improvisational language of saxophonist Seymour Wright and percussionist Paul Abbott, also known as XT. One piece, just under eighty minutes long, begins in the well-traveled territory of…
