Founded in December 1965 by Fritz Novotny, his wife Kristin, Sepp Mitterbauer and Muhammad Malli, this pioneering Vienna based improvistional jazz collective saw the contribution of more than 200 musicians over 4 1/2 decades, many of them giants of free & avant-garde jazz like Carla Bley, Don Cherry, Sunny Murray or Michael Mantler, some of them rock session musicians like Peter Wolf or Paul Fields.
Over the long timespan, elements of chamber music and Eastern European folklore were also incorporated.
The Reform Art Unit is also associated with the Viennese School For Free Improvisation.