''The Beiderbecke Connection'' is a four-part British television serial written by Alan Plater and broadcast in 1988. It is the third and final part of '' The Beiderbecke Trilogy'' and stars James Bolam and Barbara Flynn as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne. Now with a baby in tow, Jill and Trevor are asked by Big Al to look after a refugee called "Ivan".

Plot

Trevor Chaplin teaches woodwork and likes to listen to jazz. Jill Swinburne teaches English and wants to help save the planet. They live together and just want a quiet life. Since their last adventure in ''The Beiderbecke Tapes'', Jill and Trevor have a child - Firstborn. Big Al asks them to put up a friend of his and they agree. But when Ivan arrives, they find he speaks no English but thinks that "Bix is cool". Meetings with criminals, smuggling people over the border, fighting for the right to education even when it's against the rules. These and other adventures are played out to a soundtrack of jazz music in the style of

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

performed by Frank Ricotti with Kenny Baker as featured cornet soloist.

Episodes

As with '' The Beiderbecke Affair'', the four episodes are titled by

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...

, that is, the title is simply the first spoken words heard in each episode. *"Oh Look, It's Average-Sized Trevor Chaplin" - Jill & Trevor have produced Firstborn. They need a babysitter and get a refugee. Head for the border. *"Hello Sir, Hello Miss" - The refugee is back from the border. Life goes on. Big Al and Little Norm make other plans. Trevor makes a stand. *"Is He the Lodger?" - A face from the past. Criminals in the spare bed. The police take an interest. A day at the seaside. *"What Do We Have on Hockey Sticks?" - Rocking the world on its axis. But life goes on for those that hear the music.

Production

Filming locations

*Jill's house- 15 Hillview Avenue, Chapel Allerton, Leeds *San Quentin High-

Foxwood School Foxwood School was a Comprehensive school in Seacroft, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1956 and closed 40 years later in 1996. History Summary Foxwood School was the first comprehensive school in Leeds and opened on 4 September 195 ...

, Seacroft, Leeds *The bowling green- The Recreation Ground, Wortley, Leeds *The Archer Street shopping precinct- The area surrounding the Bond Street Precinct (now Leeds Shopping Plaza), Bond Street and Albion Street,

Leeds city centre Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters. C ...

. *Highfield Avenue, Wortley. *Parish church of St Margarets, Horsforth, Leeds. *Big Al phones Trevor and Jill from the former BT phone box opposite 72A Hall Lane, Leeds LS12 2BL. The area has been considerably redeveloped but the outline of the cross on the funeral director's opposite is still visible, confirming the location. File:East Leeds Family Learning Centre.jpg,

East Leeds Family Learning Centre East Leeds Family Learning Centre was a large Adult Education Centre in Seacroft, Leeds, England. The buildings were originally used as a secondary school, Foxwood School. The school is notable for its use for filming '' The Beiderbecke Tr ...

(former Foxwood School) in Seacroft, Leeds was used as 'San Quentin High' (picture taken June 2008). File:Norfolk Gardens.jpg, Norfolk Gardens in Chapel Allerton, Leeds was used in the Beiderbecke Tapes and The Beiderbecke Connection.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beiderbecke Tapes, The 1980s British comedy-drama television series 1988 British television series debuts 1988 British television series endings English-language television shows ITV comedy-dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television series by Yorkshire Television Television shows set in Leeds Television shows set in Yorkshire