Today I want to share my favorite song from what, in my experience, ranks among the most sadly unknown and underrated records ever made:  Ice Age Paradise, by Sienna Dahlen.

https://siennadahlen1.bandcamp.com/track/ice-age-paradise

I learned of Dahlen when I spent a semester working in Edmonton, Alberta, and hung out at the great jazz club there called Yardbird Suite.  Don’t get me started on how Canada supports its musicians, of which this club is one example, as compared to the shame of the US in this regard.   

I heard numerous world class musicians at the Yardbird, flown into the cold Alberta winter from far and wide—but probably Dahlen’s set was the best of the best I heard, or least tied for it. People in Canada seemed to know her at least a little—she did win a Juno award, which is like a Canadian grammy—but she wasn’t even a top headliner at the Yardbird, nor was the club full.  

Then there is the fact I have never met anyone in the US who has heard of her when I (quite often) rave about this record, except perhaps my long-suffering spouse who is tired of me complaining about it. 

To my mind this neglect is shocking and immensely damning. So for day five, here is “Ice Age Paradise,” and peace out to the great Sienna Dahlen, hoping she can get more recognition south of the Canadian border.    

MBE standard notice: The time I spend on this blog is not in addition to a Twitter and FaceBook presence, but an alternative to it.  If you think anything here merits wider circulation, this will probably only happen if you circulate it.