The front cover of Coviello Classics' Teatime at the Savoy shows three geriatric women seated at a fancy gathering over tea; an even more ancient specimen awaits on the inside cover. This image is apparently some kind of European in-joke, but in a way it's an unfortunate choice, as it might convey the impression that Teatime at the Savoy is a collection of the kinds of café concert music one would associate with the band on the Titanic. It is not; Teatime at the Savoy consists of 12 "blends" of classical works with popular tunes and/or styles in a mildly swinging context, as arranged by clarinetist Wolfgang Heinzel. Heinzel sounds like a cross between
Benny Goodman and
Giora Feidman, cross-pollinating symphonic-styled swing jazz with Klezmer overtones, and the
Opera Swing Quartet and the Philharmonie Merck (yes, the pharmaceutical company has its own philharmonic) provide restrained support and polished, though none too exciting, delivery of Heinzel's conservative arrangements. This is nowhere near as imaginative as, say, Arthur Kulling's Fun at the Festpielhaus, and the recording is anything but intimate, as it is live and rather distant, with applause at the ends of most tracks. Many attempts at direct humor fall flat; in the midst of On magic bass tour a double bass player breaks into "Smoke on the Water," and you don't laugh -- you just yawn, although there is an interesting speeding up and slowing down like an old record section found near the end of the title track, which follows.
This might have been better propagated as a video rather than a standard audio CD; the audience seems to be enjoying the show, though it is rather quiet during the music itself. Some laughter, in this case, would have helped, and to be able to see what's going on, rather than to deduce it from the recording, would make all the difference in the world. In keeping with its cover image, Coviello Classics' Teatime at the Savoy is something of a joke, only problem is, we're not in on it.