These tapes contain hundreds of live concerts and thousands of workshops, master classes, concerts, and colloquia.  Complementing the tapes are photographs, programs, and other paper materials related to the studio's activities.

"These recordings provide a veritable cornucopia of essential primary documentation for scholars, critics, and the public on this crucially important period in contemporary musical experimentalism.  Both early and mature work by many of today's most important and visionary composers, performers, improvisers, and interdisciplinary artists are included here," George E. Lewis, Columbia University's Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music, said.

The Creative Music Studio was founded in 1971 by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, and Ornette Coleman.  From its founding until the studio closed in 1984, CMS was considered the premiere study center for contemporary creative music.  CMS brought together leading innovators in the jazz, world, and western art music communities, along with writers and performing artists from around the world to create a synergistic environment for music-making.

Noted musicians were Babatunde Olatunji, Anthony Braxton, John Cage, Don Cherry, Leroy Jenkins, Steve Lacy, Roscoe Mitchell, Henri Pousseur, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich, Anthony Davis, George Lewis, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Lee Konitz, Oliver Lake, Ursula Oppens, Frederic Rzewski, Harvey Sollberger, Speculum Musicae, Cecil Taylor and John Zorn.

This important collection will provide a major record of music creation, improvisation, and performance in the second-half of the twentieth century.