Links for
1. Bands & Jam,
2. Academic work and
3. Photos
email: johnnigelcook@gmail.com
1. BANDS & JAM
Three Bop
Guitar based trio playing original compositions and new interpretations of jazz, latin and pop classics.
Lloyd Cooks and Burns
Smooth jazz, hot latin and cool blues. Vocals, piano, acoustic double bass, sax and drums.
Big Mudfish
Hooked on blues inspired by New Orleans' second line music from the Treme.
The Bear Essentials
A 5-8 piece group of jazz musicians. Play a mix of standards and not-so standard jazz tunes.
Jazz Jam, Wotton-Under-Edge
2. ACADEMIC WORK
My recent project overview page: https://tinyurl.com/4xhxtffx
Academic Blog https://connectionswiththeedge.com
Most recent:
(20/08/26) When cruelty and carelessness can be such an effective combination for both traditional and social media, it’s clear that the era of rational discourse is well and truly over. Or is it? Link
(23/07/26) My journey from "working-class" origins to a hybrid identity: using interpretative autobiography/autoethnography to explore my social mobility. Link
TIESA question: "I am having trouble keeping my own accent, can you comment with respect to your own experience?"
ICAE: "So my question is about memories and how we remember ... So maybe you could speak to emotion and grief and how that manipulates or changes or sways the way we remember versus romanticising a younger bohemian self."
It has taken me about 6 years to pull my full work together (I have a draft, or two!). I have thus started presenting aspects at conferences (TIESA and ICAE) and posting on social media to test the water. I have had a fair bit of response and this is also summarised on my new project page but your thoughts are welcome.:
https://tinyurl.com/4xhxtffx (or navigate to my recent post on this blog)
#socialmobility #class #identity #power #squatting #highereducation
(17/07/26) Visiting my younger self in London at a time of squatting, conflict and cooperation: the discomfort resulting from reconstructing my past.
My ICAE conference performance (8 minutes) from Monday 13th July 2026 is available on YouTube (this link takes you directly to it): https://youtu.be/YirgawuWzzM?t=602
My slot starts 10 mins 4 secs into the session 3 video and ends at 19 mins 23 secs. This is followed by Q&A, including some to me.
Link to Three Bop's version of my composition Blue Lights: https://soundcloud.com/threebop/blue-lights
It was part of the Session 3 Troubling Histories, International Conference of AutoEthnography (ICAE).
(08/07/26) My journey into the UK's middle-class academia: how adaptability became a part of my social mobility
Conference: The International Education Studies Association (TIESA) Conference, 7 - 8 July 2026, University of Wolverhampton
ResearchGate slides: https://tinyurl.com/5e4pf5wk
(05/03/26) Visiting my younger self in London at a time of squatting, conflict and cooperation: the discomfort resulting from reconstructing my past. Abstract has been accepted for The International Conference of Autoethnography (ICAE) 2026. Keywords: London squatter movement, indie music, conflict, cooperation, social mobility, autoethnography. See ResearchGate for PDF of my conference abstract and a teaser for the draft full paper. Or contact me for a copy of full paper: email: johnnigelcook@gmail.com Blog post
(15/01/26) Digital and AI literacy for social mobility #1. I am a gamekeeper’s son who has travelled a long way! But I am slightly ashamed to say that I unconsciously hid my northern roots and accent when I joined academia in the 1988 Blog post
(15/05/25)Who writes the history of Punk and Post-Punk is a bone of contention. Try my ‘cold case’ approach for size! Blog post
3. PHOTOS etc
Connections with the edge portfolio on my blog
This page as tiny url https://tinyurl.com/4cf4kn33