Flying Island -

Flying Island was an American jazz-rock band that released two albums in 1975 and 1976 on Vanguard.

Members: Bill Bacon (drums, percussion), Jeff Bova (keyboards, trumpet, synthesizer), Faith Fraioli (violin), Thom Preli (bass), Ray Smith (guitar)

Background

Flying Island formed in Connecticut around violinist Faith Fraioli, keyboardist Jeff Bova (b. June 22, 1953; Washington, D.C.), and drummer Bill Bacon, who met through the local jazz-fusion scene in the early 1970s. Bova, who studied music after college, connected with Fraioli during regional gigs blending violin leads with electric keyboards. Bassist Thom Preli and guitarist Ray Smith joined via shared performances at Connecticut clubs, where the five-piece honed violin-guitar-keyboard interplay over fusion rhythms. The band signed a five-year deal with Vanguard Records after demo sessions caught label attention, leading to their debut album in June 1975.

Flying Island (1975)

Flying Island released their self-titled debut in June 1975 on Vanguard.

The album fuses violin-driven jazz-rock with electric keyboard textures and steady rhythms, recorded by violinist/flutist Faith Fraioli, keyboardist Jeff Bova, guitarist Ray Smith, bassist Thom Preli, and drummer Bill Bacon, with congas by Ray Armando on two tracks and soprano saxophonist Joe Farrell on three. Bova wrote eight songs; guitarist Ray Smith wrote one.

Tracks divide into concise uptempo instrumentals and extended explorations. Violin leads propel angular runs in “Even the Birds Wear Gas-Masks” and “Priestess of Fantasy,” while keyboard swells frame guitar breaks in “The Aquilon Wave” and “I Love to Dance.” Farrell’s soprano sax adds airy lines to “Eddie” and “Cry to the Moon,” and “Aerial Jester” pairs sharp violin with tight bass pulses. “Funky Duck” opens with conga-accented rhythms, and “The Flying Island” builds contoured keyboard-violin dialogues over driving percussion.

A1. “Funky Duck” (3:04)
A2. “Even the Birds Wear Gas-Masks” (5:25) — Depicts surreal environmental themes through violin flourishes.
A3. “Priestess of Fantasy” (3:15)
A4. “Aerial Jester” (2:33)
A5. “Eddie” (6:17)

B1. “Cry to the Moon” (3:27)
B2. “Time Bound Wizard” (4:03)
B3. “The Flying Island” (3:13)
B4. “The Aquilon Wave” (5:21)
B5. “I Love to Dance” (6:34)

Sessions occurred at an unspecified studio with producer Ed Bland and engineer Jeff Zaraya. Jules Halfant handled art direction and design; Jacques Wyrs created the artwork.

Another Kind of Space (1976)

Flying Island released their second album, Another Kind of Space, in April 1976 on Vanguard.

The album shifts toward instrumental progressive rock with complex violin-guitar charts and layered keyboards, recorded by electric violinist Faith Fraioli, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bova (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Clavinet, trumpet, organ, ARP 2600 synthesizer), guitarist Ray Smith, electric bassist Thom Preli, and drummer Bill Bacon. Bova wrote six songs; guitarist Ray Smith wrote two.

The album features melodic structures over fusion backings. Violin shreds alongside guitar in rock-tinged passages on “Star Dance” and “Huh!,” while “The Whole Family Would Like This” expands into intricate organ-violin exchanges. “Dandelion Wine” delivers a brief, pastoral interlude with trumpet accents, and “Radiant Point” employs synth swells for ethereal builds. Smith’s “Isolation” stretches into a brooding guitar-led epic, and the closing “The Vision and the Voice” suite merges his vision theme with Bova’s voice section through shifting rhythmic paces.

A1. “Star Dance” (5:18)
A2. “Dandelion Wine” (2:39)
A3. “Huh!” (4:21)
A4. “The Whole Family Would Like This” (7:07)
A5. “Radiant Point” (3:37)

B1. “Isolation” (7:36)
B2. “Through the Four Doors” (5:38)
B3. “The Vision and the Voice” (9:48)

Sessions occurred at an unspecified studio with producer Ed Bland and engineer Jeff Zaraya. Jules Halfant and Rafael Rovira handled design.

Postlude

Flying Island dissolved after their second album. Drummer Bill Bacon joined Material, Curlew, and New York Gong. Violinist Faith Fraioli did a late-Eighties stint with Fates Warning. Keyboardist Jeff Bova pursued studio work with Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock, Iron Maiden, and Change.

Discography: